CHRIST IN HISTORY. 



BY 



ROBERT TTJRKBULL, D. D., 

AUTHOR OF "GENIUS OF SCOTLAND," " PULPIT ORATORS OF FRANCE AND SWITZER- 
LAND," "LIFE PICTURES FROil A PASTOR'S NOTE BOOK," ETC. 



4( History, as a whole, is a successive revelation of God."— Schelling. 

" All the intractable and contradictory problems of philosophy find their solu- 
tion in Christ." — Vinet. 

" The Gospel is the fulfilment of all hopes, the perfection of all philosophy, the 
interpreter of all revolutions, the key to all the seeming contradictions of the 
physical and moral worlds ; it is life, it is immortality." 

John Yon Mullee. 



gefo nub ILtMseb (Bbifiom 

BOSTON: 
QOULD AND LINCOLN, 

59 WASHINGTON STREET. 

NEW YORK: SHELDON AND COMPANY. 

CINCINNATI : GEO. S. BLANCHARD. 

1860. 






^altered according to Act of Congress, m the year 1860, by 
ROBERT TURNBULL, 
i Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Connecticut 



8TEREOTYPED AT THB 
BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNOBT. 




PREFACE 



To vmreflective minds history appears only as 
an intricate or confused mass of details. Change 
follows change, revolution presses upon revolution. 
Now all is a dead level of monotonous usage, 
then all is unaccountable and startling transition. 
New forms of religion and politics, of customs 
and manners, play their brief hour or age. Phi- 
losophies appear and vanish away. Empires 
rise, decline, and fall. Love and hate, piety and 
atheism, justice and injustice, peace and war 
contend for the mastery. At one time the world 
is luminous with hope, at another dark with de- 
spair. Individuals, families, and nations, like 
multitudinous waves, chase each other over the 
bosom of the deep, and are finally ingulfed in 
a stormy sea. 

Under the steady gaze of philosophic, and 
especially, of Christian thought, much of this cha- 
otic aspect of society disappears. Order begins 
to emerge ; principles and laws are recognized; a 
progress and a purpose are discerned. To attain 
this, however, requires a lofty stand-point and a 

(3) 



4 PREFACE. 

far-reaching vision. The whole domain of hu- 
man affairs, like a landscape from the summit of 
a mountain, must lie in comprehensive unity be- 
neath the gaze. Inspiration, indeed, long ago 
discerned, and in brief, pregnant utterances, indi- 
cated the true condition of humanity ; but ages 
had to elapse before it could be comprehended, and 
above all exhibited, in anything like a philosoph- 
ical or coherent form. Indeed, the idea of univer- 
sal history, or of history as a unit and a system, is 
the product of the seventeenth century. Even 
now there are cultivated minds, and among them 
a few distinguished historians, who can recognize 
in it no central or all-comprehending force. It 
is only occasionally, and as a compliment to re- 
ligion, that they acknowledge the presence of the 
Deity in the affairs of man. Some of them 
would even eliminate all such conceptions from 
history as mystical and irrelevant. It is a happy 
circumstance, however, that the more profound 
and philosophical historians are the most inclined 
to recognize the divine element. Even those 
metaphysicians who have sometimes been sus- 
pected of pantheistic infidelity, Vico, Fichte, 
Schelling, and Cousin, have given this idea the 
most distinct expression. Cousin, especially, has 
recognized it in the fullest and most eloquent 
terms. It may now be regarded as the settled 
conviction of the leading thinkers of the world 



PREFACE. 



Bossuet, in his Universal History, was the 
first to elucidate and apply this great thought. 
Still his work is neither thorough nor philosophi- 
cal. It possesses the character of a grand histor- 
ical sketch, intended for popular impression. In 
several respects its range is narrow and ecclesi- 
astical, being confined too much to the mere 
theocracy of the Jews, and the hierarchy of the 
Papal church. The state is absorbed in the 
church, and the march of history is described 
only from the Roman Catholic view. The his- 
torical details are meagre, and sometimes inaccu- 
rate. Still it possesses the great merit of recog- 
nizing the presence of God in the affairs of men, 
and describing the succession of events with a 
grave eloquence. 

Much more profound and philosophical is the 
sublime idea which runs through the New Sci- 
ence (Scienza Nuova) of John Baptist Vico, that 
singular Italian thinker, who united the brevity 
and obscurity of Heraclitus to the depth and 
force of Plato. He maintains that the divine ele- 
ment underlies humanity in all its phases, and 
may be recognized even in the superstitions of 
the heathen cultus. Still he gives undue promi- 
nence to the mere natural element, and falls into 
some singular crudities and absurdities. Had 
Jonathan Edwards been more familiar with gen- 
eral history, and in his History of Redemption 
1* 



PREFACE. 

applied the leading thought which pervades that 
work to the general course of human affairs, he 
would have created an era in historical, as he ' 
has done in theological research. Herder, with 
less depth of intellect or force of character, but 
with a wider and more liberal range of study, 
starts from the same fundamental position as 
Bossuet and Vico, and shows how art, science, 
language, poetry, and religion mingle in the 
march of humanity towards ideal perfection. 
His system, however, is too narrow and empirical 
for a complete explanation of the phenomena of 
history. F. W. Schlegel follows in the same 
track, with considerable reach of thought, and a 
distinct recognition of fundamental principles. 
He does greater justice than his predecessors to 
the influence of the remoter Oriental nations; 
still his work strikes us as superficial and frag- 
mentary. Like Bossuet, he is too much under 
the influence of Papal views, and fails to give a 
complete or philosophical exposition of the sub- 
ject. 

Bunsen, in the first volume of his Hippolytus, 
presents, in aphoristic form, a comprehensive 
sketch of the philosophy of history, in a manner 
much more complete and satisfactory than 
Schlegel.* Marred by rationalistic fancies, and 
obscure or incomplete ontological statements, 
* Further expanded in a recent work. 



PREFACE. 7 

his view, upon the whole, is the most sat- 
isfactory we have seen. It distinctly recognizes 
the great truth of God in manifested form, and 
especially in Christ, as lying at the foundation 
of all religious and historical development. 
From his ample learning, Bunsen clearly sees 
that humanity cannot permanently rise, except 
through the influence of the new and supernat- 
ural force imparted by Christianity. 

Of late years one or two works, of a fugitive 
or simply practical character, have appeared in 
this country and in England, under the title of 
" The Hand of God in History," or simply " God 
in History." The object of these is not, by a 
comprehensive analysis, to prove the presence of 
God in universal history, but rather, by a citation 
of facts, to indicate, within certain limits, his 
providential sway, or what, with special empha- 
sis, they designate " the hand of God in history." 
This they discover in striking junctures, or turns 
of affairs, sometimes called " interpositions," 
rather than in the grand and orderly movements 
of society, or the central forces which control 
them. 

Works of this sort, interesting and praise- 
worthy in their practical aim, cannot certainly 
be described as an adequate exposition of " God 
in History." 

For it is not in junctures alone, or in special 



PREFACE. 



interventions, but in " all things working togeth- 
er for good," that we discern the purpose and 
procedure of the Almighty. 

We have made these remarks upon the litera- 
ture of the subject to which the following work in 
part belongs, in order to assist us in pointing out 
its object and aim. And here, at the outset, we 
beg distinctly to say, that it does not pretend to 
be a philosophy of history, or to be strictly a philo- 
sophical or scientific work. Its form, in fact, is 
rather popular than philosophical, though based 
upon fundamental principles, and aiming to elu- 
cidate and apply essential elements. The title 
" Christ in History " limits its character to an 
exposition of the relations of Christ (here taken 
as the highest expression or manifestation of 
God) to universal history. 

Hence it takes the Incarnation as the central 
or " turning point" in the history of mankind, 
and attempts to show how all the forces of soci- 
ety converge around it, how all preceding his- 
tory prepares for it, how all succeeding history 
dates from it. In order to develop this fact, the 
reader is taken back to central facts and princi- 
ples, in other words to the fountains of history 
in the nature of God, and the nature of man; 
and the attempt is made to show that the history 
of the world, ancient and modern, can be under- 
stood only with reference to Christ. This is not 



PREFACE. 9 

assumed dogmatically, but evolved by an expo- 
sition of historical facts. 

Many things which would naturally be dis- 
cussed in a complete philosophy of history are 
omitted. Some also are taken for granted, as 
known or conceded by the reader. Indeed, the 
attention is necessarily limited to the specific 
view which it is the design of the author to 
vindicate. 

In the course of the investigation, Christianity 
is shown to be not only an historical reality, but 
a divine and supernatural power, by which all 
other realities and powers are explained and con- 
trolled. The theories of the sceptical rationalists, 
to account for Christianity on natural, local, or 
superficial grounds, are shown to be untenable. 
The natural or human factor, of course, is not 
denied ; another, however, is added, namely, the 
supernatural or divine. In a word, Christianity, 
in its interior relations and vital energies, is 
shown to be nothing less than the presence of 
God, through Jesus Christ, among men, reno- 
vating the hearts of individuals, and preparing 
the transformation of society. 

The author has endeavored to conduct the in- 
vestigation in the freest and most liberal manner, 
holding himself aloof as much as possible from 
unproved preconceptions, and less anxious, there- 
fore, to favor or deny orthodoxy, heterodoxy, or 



10 PREFACE. 

what Luther calls cacodoxy, than to establish 
the simple truth. 

On a theme so vast and comprehensive, his 
work cannot be otherwise than imperfect. No 
one can be more sensible of its defects than him- 
self. Though the labor of years, it is not offered 
as any thing approaching a complete or scientific 
view of the subject, but rather as a slight contri- 
bution, or preparation for such a view. Perhaps 
he might venture to call it an introduction to 
universal history, or at least an introduction to 
the history of Christianity. 



NOTE TO SECOND EDITION. 

In issuing this edition the author desires to say that he has 
availed himself of the opportunity to give the work a thor- 
ough revision. He has not indeed touched its essence ; he 
has only endeavored to give it a more perfect form. 

Perhaps he ought to add that he is grateful for its cordial 
reception, especially by thoughtful readers and reviewers in 
this country and in Europe, and for the assurances which 
some of them have communicated of their personal interest 
in it as a sort of guide-book in their historical and theological 
studies. He has received such assurances, in some instances, 
from quite unexpected quarters. He hopes, therefore, that it 
may continue to prove useful to sincere inquirers after truth. 

Hartford, Conn., Jan. 21, 1860. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER - PAGE 

I. THE CENTRAL POWER, . . 13 
II. THE CENTRAL PRINCIPLE, OR CHRIST IN AN- 
CIENT RELIGION, 35 

III. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED, .... 61 

IV. THE CENTRAL IDEA, OR CHRIST IN ANCIENT 

PHILOSOPHY, 83 

V. THE CENTRAL RACE, OR CHRIST AMONG THE 

HEBREWS, 121 

VI. THE CENTRAL RACE. — PRELUDES AND PREP- 
ARATIONS, 158 

VII. THE FULNESS OF TIME, 179 

STIII. THE ADVENT, . 200 

IX. THE DISCIPLINE, 225X 

X. THE INAUGURATION, OR JOHN THE BAPTIST, 252 

XL THE MYTHIC THEORY, 270 

XII. THE TEACHING OF CHRIST, 289^ 

XIII. THE MIRACLES, 307 

XIV. CHRIST IN THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH, ... 346 

XV. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED, .... 371 

XVI. CHRIST IN THE MIDDLE AGES, .... 398 

(11) 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAOB 

XVII. CHEIST IN THE REFORMATION, .... 428 
XVIII. CHRIST IN MODERN SOCIETY, .... 473 

APPENDIX. 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, . . .499 



CHRIST IN HISTORY. 



.CHAPTER I. 

THE CENTRAL POWER. 

The farther science advances, the more clearly 
is the great fact discovered that all things have 
their centres of life and motion, and that they 
belong to a single system. Acting and interact- 
ing, moving, now this way, now that, all at 
last tend one way. The stars revolve around 
their suns, and suns themselves, with attendant 
planets, revolve around a central point. Unity 
and variety, as in a circle, with its starlike radii, 
the unity ever passing into variety, and the 
variety into unity, pervade the visible creation. 
Nothing is insulated, nothing irregular. One 
mysterious law comprehends and governs the 
whole. All proceed from, and gravitate to, one 
centre. 

Not only the larger masses, suns, and constel- 
lations, gravitate thus, but the inferior parts, the 
2 W 



14 CIIRIST IN HISTORY. 

minutest atoms, fibres, and crystals. All plants 
and animals are organized around their centres 
By accretion, assimilation, and growth, they 
form themselves, according to fixed laws, from 
interior forces. The rose unfolds itself with pet- 
als and leaves, from a vital root. The dew is 
globed by the force of gravitation. The bubble 
which floats in the sunbeam, the joy of child- 
hood, obeys the same invisible power. It is 
sphered like a star, and carries upon its bosom 
all the splendors of the rainbow. A particle of 
sand, the sport of every breeze, is formed on the 
strictest mathematical principles. Scrutinized, 
it will be found piled up in fair proportions, like 
a huge crystal, with its lines, sides, and angles. 
The down upon an insect's wing, scarce visible 
to the naked eye, grows like a forest of palms. 
All nature is vital and moving, even when it 
seems to be still as the grave. Plants and ani- 
mals have a sort of double life, a life in common 
with the rest, and a life in themselves, and all 
therefore tend in one direction. Their move- 
ment is ever from, and to, centres of action and 
development. The human body grows like a 
germ, is fed and developed from an interior force. 
It has its own centre, to which it gravitates, while 
gravitating with all other things, earth, sun, and 
stars, around a common centre. 

Society also, in order to live and prosper, must 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 15 

have an appropriate centre. It gravitates around 
some vital force, being, or principle, which con- 
stitutes its life. Men may seem to be insulated 
as individuals, but they grow together; and not 
only so, but they intergrow. They are many, 
yet they are one, like the myriad globules of 
water that form the rushing stream. No two 
are alike, yet all are alike. They move appar- 
ently in diverse orbits, and yet they move to- 
gether in a common orbit. One spiritual, all- 
pervading force, or aggregate' of forces, impels 
them in the 'same direction. 

Hence they rise or fall together, move in 
peaceful order within the great sphere of duty, 
or dash tumultuously into the abyss. Strange 
varieties of costume, color, form, language, no- 
tions, prevail among the nations, yet " their 
hearts are fashioned alike." Their blood is the 
same ; their reason and their affection, their hope 
and their fear, their origin and their end, are the 
same. Free indeed, and thence capable, within 
certain limits, of virtue or of vice, of holiness 
or of sin, of religion or of atheism, they diverge 
in their choice and destiny as individuals; yet 
they are formed on the same model, obey the 
same impulses, may share the same destiny. 

Those who have read history with any atten- 
tion know that society is always organized, if 
organized with any degree of permanence, around 



16 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

some divine idea or force. No society can be 
kept together without religion ; and for the sim- 
ple reason that man, imperfect, — nay, more, 
fallen, — has his origin and his end in God. The 
Deity, in other words, the true, the good, the holy, 
— what we fitly term " the divine," — is our cen- 
tre and life. We gravitate harmoniously only 
around this eternal force, at once centripetal and 
centrifugal, attracting us to a centre, and at the 
same time propelling us in beautiful order around 
the orbit of duty. 

This characteristic of man, like the cerulean 
color of the ocean or atmosphere, may not in- 
deed be visible in detached fragments, but is 
always obvious enough in the whole. Morally, 
as well as naturally, the finite lies in the infinite. 
God and man are bound together by mysteri- 
ous ties. 

For the same reason, each individual soul has 
its proper centre. As a divine product, a child 
of the infinite Spirit, it belongs to God, and 
finds its felicity in him. No matter if morally 
severed, by disturbing causes, from its absolute 
Source, the principle or fact remains the same. 
The sun and its star, the centre and its radius, 
wherever they may be, are made for each other. 
Drawn oft' into "the abysmal dark" by the de- 
structive influence of sin, the soul wretchedly 
wanders in the void, seeking rest and finding 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 17 

none. If not restored to its source, it must 
finally perish. To be pure, peaceful, happy, 
each of us must find God, and in God attain 
the true and the holy ; and thus drinking the 
beams of the eternal Sun, revolve around him 
in glory and in joy forever. 

Thus, in all ages, we find lofty souls, even in 
darkness and sorrow, " feeling after God." 
Thales, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Cicero, 
Plutarch catch a glimpse of his glory, and pro- 
claim, with exultation, the stupendous thought- 
Somewhat bewildered, and with only partial 
views, they yet reach towards the Divine as 
their centre and their end. Nay, the poor Afri- 
can, in a deeper night, feels the mighty fasci- 
nation, without knowing what it is. Said Se- 
kesa, a native of Southern Africa, of the Bechu- 
ana tribe, to a missionary from whom he had 
been hearing of God and immortality, " Your 
views, O white man, are just what I wanted 
and sought for before I knew you. Twelve 
years ago, I went, in a cloudy season, to feed 
my flock along the Tlotse, among the Malutis. 
Seated upon a rock in sight of my sheep, I 
asked myself sad questions ; yes, sad, because I 
could not answer them. The stars, said I, who 
touched them with his hand ? On what pillars 
do they rest ? The waters are not weary ; they 
run without ceasing at night and morning alike; 
2 * 



13 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

but where do they stop, or who makes them run 
thus ? The clouds also go, return, and fall in 
water to the earth. Whence do they arise? 
Who sends them ? It surely is not the Barokas 
(rain makers) who give us the rain, for how 
could they make it? The wind — what is it? 
Who brings it or takes it away ? makes it blow, 
and roar, and frighten us ? Do I know how the 
corn grows ? Yesterday there was not a blade 
to be seen in my field. To-day I return and 
find something. It is very small; I can scarcely 
see it ; but it. will grow up like a young man. 
Who can have given the ground wisdom and 
power to produce it ? Then I buried my head 
in my hands. 

u Again I thought within myself, and I said, 
We all depart, but this country remains ; it 
alone remains, for we all go away. But whither 
do we go ? My heart answered, Perhaps other 
men live besides us, and we shall go to them. 
But another thought arose against it, and said, 
Those men under the earth, whence come they ? 
Then my heart did not know what more to 
think. It wondered. Then my heart rose and 
spoke to me, saying, All men do much evil, and 
thou, thou also hast done much evil. Woe to 
thee ! I recalled many wrongs which I had 
done, and because of this my conscience gnawed 
me in secret, as I sat alone on the rock. I say 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 19 

I was afraid. I got up and ran after my sheep, 
trying to enliven myself, but I trembled much." 

Moffat informs us that some of the tribes of 
Africa are so degraded as, apparently, to have 
no idea of a supreme power ; but this is the 
exception, not the rule.* As intelligence and 
civilization advance, the idea of "the Divine " 
becomes, in all countries, more distinct and lu- 
minous. It rises with science and virtue, appro- 
priates to itself all beautiful forms, and "sits 
enthroned on the riches of the universe." 

It is owing to the depth and permanence of 
this original instinct or intuition, blind as it 
occasionally seems, and much perverted by ig- 

* Further investigations show decisively that the exception 
scarcely exists, even among the most superstitious tribes of Af- 
rica ; the word Morimo, which means the Supreme Spirit, is found 
as a relic of some better knowledge now lost. Mr. Livingston says 
that the recently-discovered tribes in the interior of Africa have 
an idea of a supreme God. This is corroborated by Mr. Bowen, 
who says the people in Yarouba believe in one God, though the 
national worship is directed to inferior deities, both benign and 
malignant. They speak of him as " over all," and call him " the 
Owner of heaven." Their language contains those terms which 
enable the missionary to speak to them intelligently of the Deity, 
of sin, guilt, moral obligation, &c. Some of their traditions 
would indicate an Oriental origin. Every where the ark is an 
object of reverence. Missionaries and others intimately acquainted 
with the Indians, say that those tribes who have been secluded 
from intercourse with the whites have a distinct idea of a supreme 
Spirit. They worship rther spirits, but especially venerate the 
Great Spirit, and recognize the eternal distinction of right and 
wrong, with the doctrine of reward and punishment. This is cor- 
roborated by Mr. Catlin and Mr. Schoolcraft. 



20 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

norance and lust, that the race, as such, espe- 
cially in its more active centres, has always 
occupied itself with the problem of God, or the 
gods, those supreme and eternal powers sup- 
posed to preside over the universe, and has 
always organized itself, as we have said, around 
some fundamental belief in reference to duty 
and destiny. Thus Plato over and over again 
affirms that a belief in God, or the gods, is a 
natural and universal instinct.* " Examine," 
says Plutarch, in his tract against Coletes, the 
Epicurean, " the face of the earth, and you may 
find (ities unfortified, unlettered, without a reg- 
ular magistrate or distinct habitations, without. 
possessions, property, or the use of money, and 
unskilled in all the magnificent and polished 
arts of life ; but a city without the knowledge 
of God or religion, without the use of vows, 
oaths, oracles, and sacrifices to procure good, or 
of deprecatory rites to avert evil, no man can or 
ever will find." So also in his Consolatio ad 
Apollonium, he declares, " it was so ancient an 
opinion that good men should be recompensed 

* See especially De Legibus, (lib. x.,) Contra Atkeos. Plato, in- 
deed, sees clearly enough that the instinct referred to is often feeble, 
as well as subject to great perversion. In himself, it was not entirely 
free from superstition; yet who, with the slightest knowledge of 
nis works, will deny the strength and grandeur with which it de- 
veloped itself in his sublime speculations on the true, the beaii' 
tifulf and the good, as eternal entities in the bosom of God ? 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 21 

at death, that he could not reach either the 
author or the origin of it." In his Tusculan 
Questions, Cicero bears the same testimony. 
" As our innate ideas," he says, " discover to us 
that there are gods, [or a God; for Cicero often 
uses the term gods, when he means simply 
God,] whose attributes we deduce from reason, 
so, from the consent of all nations and people, 
we conclude that the soul is immortal." In 
another place, he affirms that this, as well as 
the sense of justice, must be " a law of nature." * 
Errors and superstitions of course mingled 
with ancient myths and traditions ; but they 
were based upon an original intuition, if not an 
original revelation. In corroboration of this view 
we find Aristotle averring that "it was an ancient 
saying, received by all from their ancestors, that 
all things exist by and through the power of 
God, . . . who, being one, (si;,) was known 
by many names, according to his modes of man- 
ifestation" — a testimony as striking as it is pro- 
found.! 

* Tus. Disp. i. 30. " Omnis autem in re consensio omnium gen- 
tium lex natures putanda est." Compare De Natura Deortim, i. 43, 
as also lib. ii. 12. Cicero, being an Academic, often presents his 
opinions in the form of doubts ; but his real sentiments were un- 
questionably favorable to the doctrine of God and the immortal- 
ity of the soul. How striking, for example, is the following : 
" Esse praestantem aliquam aeternamque naturam, et earn sus- 
pinendam admirandamque hominum generi, pulchritudo mundi 
ordoque rerum ccelestium cogit connteri." — De Divin. lib. ii. 

f See De Mundo, c. 6, 7. A similar passage is referred to by Ne- 



22 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

It need not surprise us, then, that the great 
thinkers of the race, those who have gone be- 
neath appearances to grasp the reality of things, 
have always tended to a common centre of spec- 
ulative thought. The idea of the Infinite has 
always swept them within its mystic circle. 
God, the soul, and immortality ; the eternal past, 
the eternal future, and the all-embracing Life in 
which they become one, are the majestic themes 
which have occupied their lives. The old Chal- 
dean, Hindoo, and Egyptian sages, the Pythago- 
reans, the Sophists, the Socratists, Plato and 
Aristotle, the Academics, the Stoics, the Neo- 
Platonists, in fact every class of Grecian think- 
ers, as also the Roman philosophers, though 
much inferior to the Grecian in vigor and com- 
prehensiveness of mind, took a more or less dis- 
tinguished part in the discussion of these subjects. 
Among the questions which the ancients consid- 
ered as lying at the foundation of all science 
and philosophical reasoning were the following : 
u 1. Whether there is a creative power in the 
universe ; 2. Whether this power is invested 
with the attributes of wisdom, goodness, and 
truth ; 3. Whether the mind of man forms a 



ander, as quoted by Plutarch, (De Defectu Oraculontm,) from the 
Antigone of Sophocles ; but we have been unable to verify it in the 
Antigone as now extant. Compare Plutarch, Adver. Stoicos, c. 22 
Cicero, De Legibus, lib. ii. 107. 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 23 

part, or is made analogous to the divine mind, 
or principle ; 4. Whether this intellectual part 
of man is of an absolutely spiritual nature, and 
is endowed with immortality ; 5. Whether there 
is any thing absolutely true or absolutely good 
in the nature of things ; 6. Whether the true 
and the good relative to man be the same in the 
essence as the true and the good relative to the 
divine nature ; 7. Whether man is an object of 
care or interest in the divine economy, and 
whether he has any means of ascertaining the 
fact ; 8. Whether we have any definite meaning 
in the mind when we make use of such words as 
justice, power, existence, intelligence, benevolence, 
virtue, vice.'i 

Their methods of reasoning, somewhat vari- 
able, may be deemed fallacious ; but the fact re- 
mains that, even in their logical and philosoph- 
ical investigations, these were the great questions 
from which they started, and to which they con- 
stantly returned. 

A few philosophers, subtle and penetrating, but 
cold and sterile, like Epicurus and Comte, have 
lingered in mere mechanism, never transcending 
the outward and perishable. Others, like Aris- 
totle and Hegel, have lost themselves in abstrac- 
tions, even while recognizing absolute and eter- 
nal being ; and others, like Pyrrho and Lucre- 



24 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

tius, driven by doubt, arising from their limited 
natures, or the disturbing influence of a chaotic 
era, have plunged into the horrible abyss of athe- 
ism. But the majority of profound thinkers, and 
still more of great actors, in all ages, have recog- 
nized, with more or less fulness, the supremacy 
of spirit, the government of God, and the im- 
mortality of the soul. 

Nay, sometimes in the deepest labyrinth of 
error, whole communities have longed after God. 
Groping in the dark amid the monuments of an- 
cient superstition, or the deeper gloom of a false 
philosophy, they have stretched themselves to- 
wards the divine, like confined flowers instinc- 
tively seeking the sun. In Athens, with its thir- 
ty thousand gods, we find an altar, if not several 
altars, to " the unknown God." The symbol 
worship of ancient Assyria, with its vast and 
shadowy forms, the mystic faith of Egypt, based 
upon some vague but sublime idea of the unity 
of God and of the resurrection of the dead, 
calm and majestic as its stony images, and espe- 
cially the gorgeous pantheism of India, at once 
monstrous and impressive, were shadows of the 
great reality. Zerdusht and Menu, as well as 
Pythagoras and Plato, penetrated beyond exter- 
nal forms, and saw quivering beneath them those 
eternal energies which they referred to being 
and thought. 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 25 

This accounts for the supposition of a golden 
age, that era of religion simple and sincere. Then 
the Divinity seemed to walk among men, and 
all nature was glorified with his presence. Mir- 
acle was law, and law was miracle ; for all was 
wonder and worship. Harmony and joy per- 
vaded the earth, bathed in celestial light. Re- 
fracted, indeed, through mythic and legendary 
mists, after all " 'twas light from heaven." Its 
origin was supernatural and divine. The first 
Eden, or the reign of God upon earth, alone can 
account for it. 

Of some such age or state all the ancient na- 
tions have traditions more or less perfect.* It 
gleams as a dim remembrance in all their poetry, 
philosophy, and history. In some cases it may 
be accounted for by the natural desire of all na- 
tions to glorify their origin and ancestry ; but this 
will not account for it in all, and especially for 
the peculiar traditional form in which it often 

* The Egyptian, Babylonian, and Persian mythologies recog 
nize it with great distinctness, and describe the change which en- 
sued as " a fall from giory." In the Vishnu Purana of the Hin- 
doo tradition, we have the following : " The beings who were cre- 
ated by Brahma were at first endowed with righteousness and per- 
fect faith ; they dwelt wherever they pleased, unchecked by any 
impediment. Their hearts were free from guile. They were pure, 
and made free from soil by the observance of sacred institutes. In 
their holy minds Hari dwelt, and they were filled with perfect wis- 
dom, wherewith they contemplated the glory of Vishnu." See a 
quotation from Pausanias in Neander's Church Hist. vol. i. p. 
12; as also various references in Knapp ? s Theology, p. 198. 



26 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

appears. It obviously supposes the existence of 
some higher civilization, lost in the dim shadows 
of the past, and not only so, but of a purer form 
of religion, or at least a deeper sense of its divine 
beauty and power. 

The earlier and stronger communities, those 
even which lapsed into symbol worship, Egypt, 
Assyria, Persia, India, Greece, Etruria, and Rome 
itself, in the palmy days of the republic, as 
Strabo and Polybius distinctly testify, had a 
strong and all-pervading faith.* The Hebrew 
commonwealth was made prosperous and per- 
manent only as a theocracy, or divine republic. 
When it ceased to be religious, it fell into imbe- 
cility, and became a reproach among the nations. 
The great and good men of all times, around 
whom society has clustered, the kingly spirits of 
history, martyrs and patriots of by-gone days, all 
have been distinguished for their piety. The 
founders of states, the reformers of laws and man- 
ners, Moses, Menu, Zoroaster, Solon, Constan- 
tine, Mohammed, Charlemagne, Alfred, Wash- 
ington, derived their greatest force from the reli- 
gious element. " God and the right " has been the 
battle cry of civilization throughout the world. 

* Some may call it, and perhaps justly, a superstition ; but this 
itself must have originated in the religious instinct. The univer- 
sality of superstition is a natural mystery, which cannot be account- 
ed for, except by reference to the spiritual and immortal nature of 
man. 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 27 

Tyranny, indeed, knowing the immense power 
of this element, has often abused it ; but what 
noble and generous thing has not tyranny abused ? 
The diamond is a diamond still, though gleam- 
ing on the brow of pride. No abuse can deprive 
religion of its original beauty, its inherent and 
eternal power. 

Hence, not only in ancient, but in modern 
times, we find ample recognition of the indestruc- 
tible religious tendency of the race. " Whether 
true or false, sublime or ridiculous," says M. 
Thiers, " man must have a religion." The his- 
torian of the Consulate and Empire, quick, ver- 
satile, and well informed, but not profound or 
philosophical, is far from seeing the reason of this 
great fact ; but his testimony is none the less val- 
uable. It gives us a glimpse of the deepest se- 
cret of human nature. 

Most instructive, as bearing upon this matter, is 
the experience of Benj. Constant,* who, seduced 
by the superficial materialism of Voltaire and the 
Encyclopaedists, at first denied the reality and 
validity of the religious sentiment, and conse- 
quently the existence and moral government of 

* Born at Lausanne, in 1767. He was educated in Germany, and 
became one of the greatest authors and most able orators of the 
liberals, or constitutionalists, in the French Chamber of Deputies. 
His great work on religion (De la Religion, consideree dans sa 
Source, ses Formes, et ses Devehppements) was published in Paris 
in 1824. 



28 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

God. Of noble and generous impulses, and long- 
ing for the emancipation of his own mind and 
that of his countrymen from the bondage of er- 
ror, he embraced, with eagerness, those views of 
nature and society which promised this result. 
The dominant faith of continental Europe, asso- 
ciated with tyranny and superstition, seemed the 
greatest obstacle to its realization, and he sym- 
pathized with the powerful attacks made upon re- 
ligion by some of the most brilliant writers of his 
time. His mind was too noble and aspiring to 
bear the burden of doubt. He longed for cer- 
tainty and freedom. He was compelled, there- 
fore, to undertake a patient and thorough exam- 
ination of the whole subject. His great work on 
religion, however, was commenced with a far 
different aim from that which he actually reached. 
He intended it, at first, as a contribution to the 
cause of infidelity. He supposed that he could 
show, by an appeal to history, that the religious 
sentiment in man was always the product of a 
delusive superstition, and that in all its forms it 
was destructive to the best interests, and espe- 
cially to the progress, of society. But one after 
another his prepossessions vanished. As his in- 
vestigations advanced, he found that religion was 
a universal and indestructible principle in the 
nature of man. Thence his inquiries took an 
entirely different direction, and the issue was, the 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 29 

production of a work which may be regarded as 
one of the most striking testimonies to the valid- 
ity and worth of religion. " My work," says he, 
in a letter to a friend, " is a singular proof of 
the remark of Bacon, that a little philosophy leads 
a man to atheism, but a great deal to religion. 
It is positively in the profound investigation of 
facts, in my researches in every quarter, and in 
struggling w T ith the difficulties without number 
which they bring against incredulity, that I have 
found myself forced to return to religious ideas. 
I have done this most certainly in perfectly good 
faith ; for I have not taken a single retrograde 
step without cost. Even to this moment all my 
habits, all my remembrances, are on the side of 
the sceptical philosophy ; and I defend, post after 
post, every spot of ground which religion gains 
from me." * 

Constant shows, by an analysis of the nature 
and susceptibilities of man, compared with the 
facts of history, that he is a spiritual being, and 
has affinities and relations with infinite perfec- 
tion and immortal existence ; that, although 
many things check and oppose this tendency in 
the race, it lives and grows, ever longing for its 
object, ever attempting its realization. He finds 
the highest development of this principle in the 

* Specimens of Foreign Literature, by George Ripley, vol. ii 
p. 273. 

3* 



80 CHRIST IN HISTORr. 

theism of the Jewish faith, so far transcending 
the people and age in which it is found, and 
especially in Christianity, which " brings life and 
immortality to light." Kant's Kritik of the Prac- 
tical Reason, (Praktischen Vernunft,) after the 
strictest analysis of the moral wants and ten- 
dencies of the human soul, comes to precisely 
the same result. Comte himself has recently 
avowed the necessity of religion, and has given 
an exposition of his views upon this subject, in 
his " positive theory of human unity." * 

Indeed, it must be obvious to every candid 
thinker that the welfare of the individual man, as 
well as that of society, depends upon the depth 
and purity of their religious convictions. " The 
first principle of right reason is religion," says 
Lord Bacon, touching, in his brief, expressive 
way, the very core of the matter.f On this 
rests, as its lowest foundation, the entire super- 

g BaTt lo P e ^ m t ^ ie secon ^ volume of his " Systeme de Politique 

Positive/' 

, r,,, . ^age in which this occurs is well worth atten- 

,. ,, ,, : ^ *. ,; eve all the fables in the Talmud and the 

tion. " I ha,d rattier beu , c --.,.* ■ a n a 

.. .. , "Tsal frame is without a mind. God 

Alcoran than that tfcis nni\^- , ^ • *. x. i* *• 

-■* an atheist, because his ordinary 

fc ever Wrought a miracle to confer ». -, . ,. . . 

- ~»ony may incline men to m- 

worfc; Confute atheism. A little pbflflf£ . ,, , -, . ,. 
1 -. > * ngs them back to reli- 
fidclity ; but a further proceeding tfiere-iii hi. .. auges scattered it 

5 iom For when the mind loo^s on second u _ ^ confedera ' ted 

sometimes rests in them ; but ,vhen it beholds the* ^ to D 

and linked together, it mm^eeds fly to Proyidsnop au ^ £ 

After all mj studies and inquiries, I dare not die #1$ a*, 

glifcj than those of the Christian religion." 



THE CENTKAL POWER. 31 

structure of the social state. Without it, man 
is nothing — society is lost. Destroy religion, 
and our very nature 

" Sinks under us, bestorms, and then devours." 

The fact is, a community of atheists cannot 
exist. Infidelity is essentially disorganizing. It 
uniformly breaks up society, and rushes to ruin. 
France, indeed, once proclaimed herself atheistic, 
but it was in the midst of a revolution the most 
appalling and bloody. The delusion lasted only 
the briefest space. Reaction was instant and 
decisive. Atheism, we grant, yet lingers in that 
beautiful country, but only as an individual 
opinion. Besides, that it is an element of dis- 
organization, even in this form, must be obvious 
to the most superficial observer. If France ever 
falls, as fell the old dynasties of the world, it 
will fall through scepticism and lust. 

Of course, religion, like all other things, — 
science, morals, literature, social life, and gov- 
ernment, will represent the nature of those 
who profess it. As men are imperfect beings, 
in most cases ignorant, nay, more, positively 
sinful, having suffered some fatal lapse, their 
religion will rarely, if ever, rise to any thing like 
perfection. Their creeds will often be crude, 
visionary, superstitious ; nay, sometimes pos- 
itively degrading. For the well-known adage 



32 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

of Horace is universally true, that the best 
things abused always become the worst. Li- 
able to error and passion, our religion, perverted, 
sometimes proves the direst curse. Hence, in 
the matter of piety and morals, we find, among 
men, strange action and reaction. For now, by 
the force of what may be called their better 
nature, they are attracted to God, and anon, by 
the force of their evil nature, repelled from him. 
They vibrate, like a pendulum, between holi- 
ness and sin, vice and virtue. After all, God is 
their portion, perfection their true and eternal 
destiny. 

Hence superstition is the symptom of a deeper 
want. It is the hunger of the soul feeding upon 
husks, the thirst of the spirit drinking poison. 
In its wildest vagaries, even idolatry is the shadow 
of diviner worship. That young Hindoo mother, 
who has thrown her first born into the Ganges, 
has all the affection of a mother, and her heart, 
torn with anguish, goes after her little one sink- 
ing in the waves; but she has made the sacrifice 
(in her view, sublime) of that dearest treasure, 
for the salvation of her soul. Nations set up a 
Moloch or a Juggernaut, not because they love 
cruelty for its own sake, but because a blind, but 
irresistible instinct impels them to seek some re- 
lief to the terrible famine of the spirit. 

The fact is obvious, that in all ages religion, 



THE CENTRAL POWER. 33 

in some form, has been the central force of 
society, the keystone of states and empires ; and 
for this simple reason, that, being divine, it is the 
only thing which controls the inner life. It is the 
law which a community carries, not in its gov- 
ernment archives, but in its heart. It requires no 
magistrate to pronounce sentence, no police to 
seize, no executioner to punish. Its domain is 
invisible and all comprehending, like the magnetic 
forces which pervade universal nature. 

A true history of the world, then, especially of 
its civilization, its progress or decay, would be a 
history of religion in its relations to society. This 
every where is the pervading and abiding power. 
This marks the degree of elevation or depression 
in all. As this rises so rises society in prosperity 
and strength. As this falls, so falls society into 
barbarism and decay. Corrupted, abused, de- 
based, like government, law, organization, free- 
dom, every thing, in a word, which has power, it 
is a reality the most sublime, a good the highest 
and deepest of all. 

It is on this ground we maintain that God, in 
some manifested form, or an organized belief, and 
especially in Jesus Christ and Christianity, to 
which Judaism is an introduction, is the centre 
of all history, past, present, and to come. So that 
those who would know Christ must know history, 



84 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and those who would know history must know 
Christ.* 

But we must go back to primeval fountains, 
and trace the central element or principle referred 
to, namely, God as a personality, more espe- 
cially " God in Christ," either as a hope or a pos- 
session, in the great powers which ruled over an- 
cient society, in religion, philosophy, and what 
men call the common, but in reality divine, suc- 
cession of events. 

* " By him," says St. Paul, " all things consist, "(avvecrTrjKev,) 
literally, stand together. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE CENTRAL PRINCIPLE, OR CHRIST IN ANCIENT 
RELIGION. 

We cannot here trace, with any detail, the his- 
tory of religion from the earliest times ; but a brief 
and comprehensive sketch, indicating its general 
character, and especially its relations to Christ, 
will be in place. 

Leaving out of the account, for the present, the 
teachings of the Scriptures as to the primitive 
form of belief in the early ages of the world, we 
begin with religion as it existed in the form of 
nature-worship, symbol-worship, and idolatry. 
The most eminent archaeologists and historians 
give it as their opinion that these, in the elder and 
more civilized nations, were the corruptions of a 
purer faith ; or at least that the traditional influ- 
ence of a purer faith mingled with these in all 
their successive transformations. " The more I 
investigate the ancient history of the world," says 
A. W. Schlegel, " the more I am convinced that 
the civilized nations set out from a purer worship 
of the Supreme Being ; that the magic power of 
nature over the imagination of the successive hu- 

(35) 



36 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

man races, first at a later period, produced poly- 
theism, and finally altogether obscured the more 
spiritual religious notions, while the wise alone 
preserved within the sanctuary the primeval se- 
cret.* 

Among all these nations, especially in the 
writings of the poets, and in the primitive reli- 
gious or mythological traditions, scattered memo- 
rials are found of a belief in the existence and 
moral government of God and the immortality of 
the soul. Plutarch, in his treatise on the Isis and 
Osiris of Egyptian worship, informs us, that " it 
was a most ancient opinion handed down from 

* Those who wish to investigate this subject are referred to 
Cudworth's Intellectual System, civ., passim ; the first part of 
Warburton's Divine Legation of Moses, compared with Mosheim, 
De Rebus ante Const, p. 17, et seq., (in Dr. Murdock's edition of 
Yidal's Translation, pp. 20-48 ;) Neander's Church Hist. vol. i. pp. 
5-34; F. W. Schlegel's Language and Wisdom of the Indians; and 
Mueller's Intro, to a Complete System of Mythology. With ref- 
erence to the Mysteries, see Creuzer's Symbolik und Mythologie, iv. 
3, et seq. ; Limburg Brouwer's Histoire de la Civilisation des Grecs, 
torn. 2, cxiv. ; Bryant's Analysis of Ancient Mythology, vol. iii. p. 
400, et seq. Lobeck, in his celebrated Aglaophemus has in- 
geniously defended a different view ; but the verdict of recent my- 
thologists is against him. The arguments upon this subject are 
summed up in an ingenious and eloquent article in Blackwood's 
Mag. for February, 1853. On the opinions of the Ancient Egyp- 
tians, see Prichard's Analysis of Egyptian Mythology; as, also, 
Kenrick's Ancient Egypt, particularly vol. i. pp. 302, 306. Meiners, 
in his too highly-estimated work entitled Hist. Doctrines de Deo Vero, 
has maintained that the heathen received their first idea of the true 
God from Athanagoras; but his reasoning is one-sided and unsat- 
isfactory. The views of Neander, Schleiermacher and the later Ger- 
man theologians are much nearer the truth. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 37 

legislators and divines to poets and philosophers, 
the author of it entirely unknown, but the belief 
of it indelibly established not only in tradition 
and the talk of the common people, but in the 
mysteries and sacred offices of religion, both 
amongst Greeks and barbarians spread all over 
the face of the earth, that the universe was not 
upheld fortuitously, without mind, reason, or a 
governor to preside over its affairs." 

This is especially true of the Egyptians, Chal- 
deans, Assyrians, and probably the Hindoos, as 
also, to some extent, of the elder Greeks and 
Romans. Zeus himself, (from the verb signify- 
ing to live*) the head of the Olympian conclave, 
is but a corruption, as the name imports, of Je- 
hovah, the one eternal Life-giver, the basis of 
which undoubtedly is, the " I am that I am,'' or 
The Existing One of Moses, " King of kings and 
Lord of lords." Occasionally, in the Greek dra- 
matists and elsewhere, he is described as the One 
Source of life, "the Father of gods and men." 

* This derivation is given by Plato in the Cratylus, (28.) " For 
in reality," he says, " the name of Zeus is, so to speak, a sentence, 
and persons dividing it into two parts, some of us make use of one 
part, and some another; for some call him Z?>, and some Aij; but 
these parts, combftied in one, exhibit the nature of the God, which, 
as we have said, a name ought to do. For there is no one who, in 
a higher sense, is the cause of life, both to us and every thing else, 
than he who is the Ruler and King of all. It follows, therefore, 
that this God is rightly named, through whom life is imparted to all 
living beings." ' • 

4 



38 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Thus, in the Troades of Euripides, we have the 
following: — 

" O thou who guid'st the rolling of the earth, 
And o'er it hast thy throne, whoe'er thou art, 
Most difficult to know, the far-famed Zeus, 
Or nature's law, or reason such as man's, 
I thee adore, that, in a noiseless path, 
Thy steady hand with justice all things rules." 

In the CEdipus Coloneus we read, — 

" Thou power supreme, all power above, 
All-seeing, all-performing Jove.'* 

But in the Philoctetes of the same poet, the earth 
is apostrophized as the mother of all things : — 

" Earth, thou mother of great Jove, 
Embracing all with universal love." 

In the Prometheus of iEschylus, the most original 
and powerful of the Greek tragedies, Jove is de- 
scribed as a usurper. Prometheus, the half-divine, 
half-human Sufferer and Savior, (as it were a 
dumb prophecy of Christ,) is the true friend of 
man. It is only by glimpses and flashes that the 
Greek poets give any just conceptions of a su- 
preme, all-righteous Deity. Eusebius, for ex- 
ample, in his Preparatio Evangelica, quotes from 
a lost tragedy of Euripides these striking words : — 

" Thou self-sprung being, that doth all infold, 
And in thine arms heaven's whirling fabric hold," 

reminding us of Bryant's beautiful lines, — 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 39 

" Eternal love doth keep 
In his complacent arms the earth, the air, the deep." 

Some of the finest sayings of the Wise Men 
of Greece have the aspect of poetical traditions. 
" God," said Thales, " is the eldest of all things, 
for he is uncreated. Death differs not from life, 
the soul being immortal." * Thales indeed 
claimed that water was the principle of all 
things ; but it was difficult for him to distinguish 
between the physical and the spiritual. Hera- 
clitus affirmed the unity of all things, and de- 
clared, u There is but one object of wisdom, the 
name of Zeus, which wills, and wills not to be 
named." f 

To the same effect some of the Christian 
fathers, especially Clement of Alexandria, and 
Justin Martyr, quote several traditionary pas- 
sages from Orpheus, Musaeus, the Sibylline Ora- 
cles, and other Greek poems, some of which may 
be supposed to be genuine. Of these we trans- 
late one or two specimens : — 

" I adjure thee by heaven, the work of the wise and great God ; 
I adjure thee by the voice of the Father." 

Some doubt, however, may be thrown upon the 

* See Cicero, De Natura Dewwn. 
f Ritter's Hist, of Ph., Vol. I. p. 234. 



40 CHRIST IN HISTORV. 

genuineness, or at least the absolute antiquity, of 
this. More reliable is the following: — 

" One God, one Pluto, one Bacchus, 
One God in all- . " * 

That from the pseudo author of the Sibylline Or- 
acles, indorsed as Justin Martyr affirms, by Plato 
and Aristophanes as a vates, could we rely upon 
its genuineness, is peculiarly striking. 

" One God there is, (Eig be Qebg n6vug,) alone, great, uncreated, 
Omnipotent,, invisible, seeing all, 
Himself unseen by mortal flesh." f 

We will not, indeed, urge these as absolute 
authorities upon the point in question ; still they 
are fair specimens of many similar expressions 
which were afloat in the current traditionary lit- 
erature of Greece. Of the authors of these the 
profound Heraclitus, five hundred years before 
Christ, had said, " Their unadorned, earnest 
words, spoken with inspired mouth, reached 
through a thousand years." The passages from 
the elder Greek poets quoted in the De Monar- 
chia of Justin's works are equally striking, and 
certainly more reliable, as most of them can be 

* In striking correspondence with this was the ancient Greek in- 
scription on the Egj-ptian obelisk in the Circus Major at Home : 
Meya? Otog 6ioytwf]TOi TTajx^lyyrji — the great God, the Begotten of 
God, and the all-radiant One. 

f Opera Justini Martyris, (Otto's ed.) pp. 53-55. Compare what 
he says in the De Monarchia, p. 125, et seq. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 41 

verified by reference to the originals.* Cudworth, 
who justly rejects a large proportion of the col- 
lection called the Sibylline Oracles, as " a useless 
farrago," quotes the following as genuine, from 
the works of Pausanias : — 

" Zeus was, Zeus is, Zeus shall be, great Zeus." f 

In a word, it can be proved beyond a doubt, that 
the Greeks, as well as some of the neighboring 
nations, did occasionally recognize the existence 
of some supreme Numen, Governor or Spirit of 
the universe, and that the idea was taken up, and 
in some cases vindicated, by their philosophers. 

Xenophanes, one of the early philosophical 
rhapsodists, and founder of what is called the 
Eleatic school, exclaims, with wonderful clearness 
and force, — 

* Most of the Orphic and Sibylline hymns are regarded by schol- 
ars as spurious. Many of them were undoubtedly invented by the 
Neo-Platonists of Alexandria. It is certain, however, that some of 
them, in a more or less perfect form, were afloat, as traditionary 
fragments, in the common literature of Greece, and that several of 
these were quoted or referred to by Greek classic writers as early as 
the days of Plato. Orpheus is spoken of by them as a sort of 
" inspired theologer." The best edition of the Orphic poems is that 
of Hermann. The question of their antiquity has been thoroughly 
discussed by Bode, in his prize essay on this subject. On the 
Sibylline Oracles, an admirable article may be found in the Christian 
Review for March, 1848. Compare Xeander's Ch. History, i. 177. 

•j* Works, vol. i. p. 382. The quotation from Pausanias reminds us 
of the inscription on the temple of Xeitha in Egypt, as reported 
by Plutarch, {JDe Isid. et Osi.,) "Eyw dpi nav to yeyovog xat ov a a 
CffOfxohov, etc. 

4* 



42 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

" There's but one God alone, the greatest of gods and of mortalfl, 
Neither in body to mankind resembling, neither in ideas.* 

Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, though be- 
wildered by the duality of the universe, and the 
apparent duality in the nature of the infinite mind, 
yet taught that God, as essence, is one ; that he is 
present in all things, governing the world ; and 
that from him our souls derive their origin. They 
taught also, though in the form of metempsy- 
chosis, the immortality of the human soul, as 
well as the reality and eternity of virtue. f 

It is a generally received opinion that the great 
philosophical writers of Greece derived some of 
their loftiest notions from Egypt and the East. 
The philosophy of Plato, whatever its origin, is 
but a combination of the Grecian and Oriental 
minds. The acknowledgment of one supreme 
and eternal Deity, by him and others, is not so 
much a speculation as an intuition, possibly a tra- 
dition from India or Egypt ; or even from Judea 
itself. Be this, however, as it may, the German 
critics are right when they designate the philos- 
ophy of Plato as at once " speculative " and 

* Ritter Hist, of An. Ph. vol. i. p. 432. The quotation is from 
Clemens Alexandrinus, and is as follows : — 

EU Ocdq ev re Oeolai Kai ai'Spuiroiai [neytcroSf 
Ovti oifiai OvrjToJai ovds vorjjxa. 

t Cicero, De Natura Deorum, i. 11. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 43 

" traditional." He himself demands assent to it, 
mainly on the ground of its being voyia deonuqa- 
doTo^ — God-given wisdom. 

Socrates, indeed, gives proofs from adaptation 
and design, after the manner of Cicero and Paley, 
for the existence and moral government of God ; 
after all, it is evident that the idea existed in his 
mind, and in the mind of Plato before the proofs 
referred to were cited in argument* These rev- 
erent and lofty souls caught the grand idea as it 
floated upon the stream of time, amid the frag- 
ments of a primeval revelation. They found it, 
indeed, connatural to their own reason ; but they 
did not claim it as an original or independent 
thought, which had sprung up spontaneously in 
their mind, or had been excogitated by specula- 
tion and argument.! 

* In the Platonic dialogues the existence of God is generally as- 
sumed, or based upon, an original intuition. Plato, if called upon 
for a proof, .would refer to the very nature of being and thought, as 
essential, immutable realities. 

Socrates, in Xenophon, refers to adaptation and design. See 
Xenophon's Mem. lib. i. c. iv. 

f The ancient fathers, Justin Martyr, Cyril, Tertullian, and 
others, constantly affirm that Plato derived many of his ideas of 
God from the writings of Moses. After having quoted the celebrat- 
ed passage from the Ti?ncmis, " that to know the Father and Maker 
of all is very difficult, nor, having found him, is it safe to tell to all 
persons," Justin Martyr {Cohortatio ad Grcecos, c. 22) adds, 
" When Plato had learned these things in Egypt, and had been 
greatly delighted with what was said concerning the one God, he 
did not think it safe to mention the name of Moses, a teacher of the 
one and only God, being in fear of the Areopagus." This may be 
taken for what it is worth ; we cite it as curious. 



44 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

The Deity, as recognized by the Stoics, though 
frequently approaching the nature-divinity of pan- 
theism, had sublime attributes, as the well-known 
hymn of Cleanthes strikingly testifies. It sounds 
like the echo, or the refrain, of a purer faith.* 
Yet, generally speaking, the God of the Stoics 
is represented by them as "devouring his own 
offspring," (a truly pantheistic conception,) and 
thus assuming the character of a blind, inexorable 
power, to whom, willing or unwilling, they must 
submit. They doubted, sometimes denied, the 
immortality of the soul, the consequence of which 
often was a mournful despair, under the influence 
of which Cleanthes himself committed suicide. 
Others regarded themselves as equal to Gocl, 
and, like Prometheus, defied his power. A few 
only submitted gracefully to their destiny, giving 
back what they had received from the All. But 
amid all their speculations gleamed the central 
idea of the unity and eternity of God ; and it is 
this which gives such grandeur to some of their 
expressions, and its fine moral charm to the hymn 
of Cleanthes. 

A similar and perhaps more striking instance 
of this primitive, perhaps foreign, element in the 
religion of Greece is from the poet Aratus, as 

* How grand and striking the commencement : 

Ki&iaT adnvaTU)v f Tzo^vuvvfie nayKpaTU ahl, 
Zevi (pieces aoxnyh vopov hetcl navra Kvfiepwv, 
Xalpt. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 45 

quoted by St. Paul, in his address before the 
Athenian Areopagus, on which occasion the 
great apostle recognizes the religious spirit in- 
crusted by superstition, even in their heathen 
cultus. He declares unto them "the unknown 
God, whom," says he, "ye ignorantly worship." 
It appears that Eudoxus of Cnidus, a contempo- 
rary of Plato, about 370 years before Christ, sent 
forth a description of the face of the heavens, 
containing the names and characters of the con- 
stellations recognized in his day. Though this 
production has perished, a poetical paraphrase 
of it was made by Aratus, a Cilician, and prob- 
ably a native of Tarsus ; and this is the poem 
from which St. Paul quotes. It opens with a 
statement of the dependence of all things upon 
Zeus, whose children all men are, and who has 
given the stars as the guides of agriculture: — 

"With Jove (Zeus) we must begin, nor from him rove, 
Him always praise ; for all is full of Jove ! 
He fills all places where mankind resort, 
The wide-spread sea, with every sheltering port. 
Jove's presence fills all space, upholds this ball : 
All need his aid, his power sustains us all ; 
For we his offspring are,* and he in love 
Points out to man his labor from above, 
Where signs unerring show where best the soil 
By well-timed culture shall repay our toil." 

* The original expression is rov yap Kal yivoi icrfiiv. Similar ex- 
pressions may be found in Plato. See the passage respecting the 
creation of man, as translated by Cicero, quoted in Knapp's Theo. 
p. 197. 



CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

It is questionable, indeed, whether Aratus felt 
the full force of his own words. They probably 
convey to us a far sublimer conception than ever 
dawned upon his mind. For the fact is, while 
gleams of diviner light occasionally flashed upon 
some of the Grecian intellects, most of them were 
far from realizing the spiritual unity and su- 
premacy of the all-comprehending Spirit. Their 
religion was only a poetical, often a very licen- 
tious nature-worship, in the form of polytheism. 
Their gods were seldom better, often vastly 
worse, than themselves.* 

By a natural process of deterioration, the 
primitive and purer worship, in all nations, was 
gradually merged in superstition. Those unde- 
fined feelings which mankind naturally cherish 
towards some superior power were transferred 
either to symbolic representations, or to material 
objects. The principles and forms of idolatry, at 
first few and simple, were gradually multiplied. 
The system was invested with greater pomp, and 
modified by more numerous and elaborate cere- 
monies. The knowledge of the true God grew 
dim, and was all but effaced from the minds of 
men. Only its image or echo remained. A 
vague but still sublime impression of " something 
far more deeply interfused," a " motion" and a 

* See Grote's History of Greece, vol. i. pp. 3-19. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 47 

'' presence," vast and mysterious, dwelling in the 
light of setting suns, whispering in hoary woods 
and mountain solitudes, or residing, in supreme 
but hidden grandeur, above the blue concave, 
amid radiant suns and constellations, led them 
to seek emblems of the Deity in the more bril- 
liant and magnificent forms of nature. Nature, 
indeed, was substituted for God. The fragment 
was taken for the whole ; the world for the 
world's Creator and Lord ; the life, the beauty, 
the motion for the great and eternal Spirit from 
whom they spring. The motions and uses, 
especially of the heavenly bodies, were observed. 
They were supposed to exert a baleful or benig- 
nant influence not only upon the earth, but upon 
the soul and destiny of man. They seemed the 
very eyes of God, or of the Gods ; nay, more, the 
very power and presence of uncreated glory, 
burning, with unconsuming fires, in the depths 
of "the eternal night." 

Besides, it is natural to give outward form and 
expression to inward feelings and conceptions, to 
symbolize, in permanent shape and image, ab- 
stract principles and modes of being. Hence the 
language of signs, of hieroglyphs, and emblems, 
common to all the ruder nations. Hence the sym- 
bols even of the Holy Scriptures, the signs and 
ceremonies of the old temple worship among the 



48 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

spiritual Hebrews.* Mr. Layard thinks that the 
magnificent, winged, lion-headed, and human- 
headed animals, excavated from the ruins of 
Nineveh, were emblems of the attributes and 
perfections of the old Assyrian deities. 

"What more noble forms," says he, "could 
have ushered the people into the temple of their 
gods ? What more sublime images could have 
been borrowed from nature by men who sought, 
unaided by the light of revealed religion, to em- 
body their conception of the wisdom, power, and 
■ ubiquity of a Supreme Being ? They could find 
no better type of intellect and knowledge than 
the head of a man — of strength, than the body 
of a lion — of rapidity of motion, than the wings 
of a bird. These winged, human-headed lions 
were not idle creations, the offspring of mere 
fancy. They had awed and instructed races 
which flourished three thousand years ago. 
Through the portals which they guarded, kings, 
priests, and warriors had borne sacrifices to their 
altars long before the wisdom of the East had 
penetrated to Greece, and had furnished its 

* The Jews were not forbidden the use of symbols as such, but only 
of idolatrous images ; that is, of idols or figures representing the 
divinity. Their whole history, temple service, and even domestic 
rites, were symbolic. The cherubim above the mercy seat symbolized 
the divine attributes. It is not symbols, but symbol-worship, or 
idolatry proper ; that is to say, the substitution for the eternal God 
of outward forms, or created beings, which is so abhorrent to the 
pure Theism of the Bible. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 49 

mythology with symbols long recognized by the 
Assyrian votaries." * 

But man unregenerate has earthly and carnal 
tendencies. He speedily loses the knowledge of 
the spiritual and eternal. Thence, in process of 
time, among all the ancient nations, the sign 
assumed the place of the thing signified.! God 
was forgotten, while his image remained. Prin- 
ciples were lost, but emblems and usages con- 
tinued. The outer aspects and forces of nature 
were deified and adored. These, again, by an 
easy descent into error, came to be considered 
as separate powers ruling over the various de- 
partments of the universe. In this way the 
primitive form of idolatrous worship was the 
adoration of the earth and the blue concave with 
its innumerable fires, and especially the sun, 
moon, and brighter planets, as the pure sym- 
bols of the Divinity, then as the real aspects and 
attributes of his nature, and finally as separate 
gods. Artificial emblems of th^se, in their turn, 
were formed, either by means of painted or of 
sculptured images; and thus, in succeeding ages, 
the Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva of Hindoo 



* Nineveh, vol. i., p. 69. 

f Doubtless there were, in all, individual exceptions. The influ- 
ence of tradition, of natural reason and conscience, and the secret 
working of the divine Spirit, not entirely withheld from the heathen, 
preserved in devout hearts the worship of the one true God. 

5 



50 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

mythology — the ancient Belus or Baal of Chal- 
dean and Phoenician worship — "the Moloch or 
tire-god, Ashtaroth or Astarte, the moon-god, and 
Remphan, the star-god of Canaan and the neigh- 
boring countries — the Osiris or sun-god of 
Egypt — the Jupiter and Apollo, Phoebus, or the 
sun-god of Greek and Roman superstition, took 
the place of the more simple and beautiful ob- 
jects of early adoration.* 

If Layard has given us the true import of the 
ancient Assyrian images, they had lost it as 
early as the days of the Hebrew prophets, who 
justly represent the Assyrians as abject idol- 
aters. Various monuments on the Assyrian 
sculpture even now prove that they adored the 
powers of nature and " the host of heaven." If 
they had any conception of a supreme Divinity, 
he was probably regarded only as the first among 
many. The sun was the principal object of 
Chaldean worship, originally, we doubt not, as 
the symbol of Jehovah, but subsequently " in 
and for itself," as Baal or Belus, whence the 
Greek Apollo (H)do;) or the sun-god, correspond- 
ing, in a remarkable degree, to the sun-god 
of ancient Peru.f The magnificent bull-god 



* Hitter, Hist. An. Ph. i. p. 81, and F. W. Schlegel's Ph. of 
Hist. pp. 214-227. 

f See Prescott's Conquest of Peru. Introductory account of 
Penman civilization. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 51 

with human head and spreading wings, was 
probably the symbol of divine power, less appro- 
priate and beautiful than the sun-god with 
streaming rays, or the form of a majestic, irra- 
diated man, the Apollo of later times. But the 
symbol itself, in the worship of the people, as 
the calf in the Hebrew idolatry, doubtless, took 
the place of the true and eternal Jehovah. 
" These be thy gods " — thy Elohim, that is 
symbols of thy' God, " O Israel ! " In all the 
tombs and temples of Assyria and Chaldea, and 
even of Nubia and Egypt, are sculptured repre- 
sentations and inscriptions of these divinities — 
" the chambers of imagery " seen by Ezekiel in 
his prophetic visions. 

The process of change and corruption to 
which we have referred is strikingly developed 
in Egyptian history. We find among them, in 
the first place, some vague idea of a Supreme 
Being, with attributes of omnipotence and eter- 
nity, to whom all things are referred, and who 
was too holy to be named by any one except 
the priests ; finally figured on all the sculptures 
as the Sun-god, whence the term Phre or Phra, 
and thence Pharaoh, the emperor or Caesar of 
Egypt, who derived his power from the Divin- 
ity, and who, in his absolute dominion, mirrored 
the might and supremacy of the eternal Sun.* 

* Sir Gardner Wilkinson says that the Hebrew Phra is taken 
from the Egyptian word pire, or phre, signifying the sun, and rep- 



52 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

This supreme and " hidden " God was Amun, 
afterwards called Zeus, or Jupiter Ammon, sym- 
bolically represented under the figure of a ram, 
with the disk of the sun upon his head, to indi- 
cate that he is the God of the sun, as that lu- 
minary enters the sign of the Ram.* In Egyp- 
tian theogony, Amun is represented as manifest- 
ing himself through Phtha, the god of light or 
fire, in the creation of the world, and thus form- 
ing gods and men. The government of the 
universe, under him, is committed to twelve prin- 
cipal gods, each of whom has for his symbol 
one of the twelve signs of the zodiac, with three 
attendants or satellites, and these again with 
their attendants, and so on in succession, until 
the last class of subordinates amount to three 
hundred and sixty. These, with various orders 
of demons, good and bad, preside over the earth 
and heavens, and so divide the year. Hence the 
sludy of astrology, to which the Egyptians and 
other ancient nations were so much addicted.f 

According to this system men are the em- 
resented in hieroglyphics by the hawk and globe, or sun, over the 
royal banner. — Egypt, &c, by Dr. Hawks, p. 101. 

* Whence Heliopolis, the sacred city of the sun. 

■f We ought to state here that the latest authorities deny the 
general prevalence of any one system of religion in Egypt. It 
would appear that various gods were worshipped in different parts 
of the country. Polytheism must have been prevalent at a very 
early period. See upon this subject Kenrick's Ancient Egypt, vol 
i. p. 305. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 53 

bodied spirits of a higher order of beings, who, 
prompted by curiosity, formerly passed the bound- 
aries of the celestial spheres, and received cor- 
poreal frames from the god Hermes. Falling 
into discontent and misery, they lost their prim- 
itive purity, and became a burden to the earth 
and elements, who complained of them to their 
creator. Pitying them, he sent Osiris and Isis 
upon the earth to redeem them. 

Hence followed the sensual worship of Osiris as 
the sun, and Isis as the moon, generative powers 
of nature, with Typhon, the serpent or destroyer. 
Osiris was regarded as the tutelar deity of the 
Egyptians, and his spirit or soul was supposed 
always to inhabit the body of the bull Apis, a 
black animal with a white spot like a triangle 
on his forehead, another resembling a crescent on 
his right side, and under his tongue a lump or 
protuberance, somewhat resembling a beetle. 

Thus beast-worship became universal in Egypt ; 
for the symbolic meaning of the bull-god was 
known only to the priests. 

Such a system, of course, readily mingled with 
the lowest forms of fetichism, springing spon- 
taneously from the soil, or introduced into Egypt 
from the neighboring countries. So that we 
finally find throughout the land a monstrous and 
degrading worship of all sorts of gods in the heav- 
ens above, and in the earth beneath, and in the 
5* 



54 



rRIST IN III STORY. 



waters under the earth — cats, serpents and other 
reptiles, plants and flowers, rivers and fountains 
of waters, and especially the old prolific Nile with 
its ibises and crocodiles. 

" Among the Egyptians," says Clement of Al- 
exandria, "you find temples and porticoes, and 
vestibules and sacred groves ; their halls are sur- 
rounded with numberless columns ; the walls are 
resplendent with foreign stones and beautiful 
paintings ; the temples are brilliant with gold and 
silver, and amber and many-colored gems from 
India and Ethiopia, while the adyta are curtained 
with gold embroidered hangings ; but if you go 
into the deep interior of the place, and eagerly 
seek to see what you suppose will be most worth 
your attention, — the statue which occupies the 
temple, — a priest of dignified aspect, from among 
those who offer sacrifice in the most holy place, 
singing a paean in the Egyptian tongue, lifts the 
veil a little aside, as if to show the god ; then you 
find occasion for hearty laughter ; for instead of 
the god you are seeking, you will find but a cat, 
a crocodile, a serpent of the country, or some 
other beast worthy only of some cavern, den, or 
marsh, rolling upon purple coverlets ! " * 

The vast and monstrous superstitions of the 

* Paedagog. lib. iii. c. 2. For further information on the subject 
of Egyptian superstition, see Pritchard's Analysis of Egyptian 
Mythology, Ieonographic Cyclopedia, vol. iv., art. Mythology; 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 55 

Hindoo mythology are founded upon material 
pantheism, or nature-worship. Brahm, the su- 
preme deity, written in the neuter gender to in- 
dicate his negative character, being simple exist- 
ence without consciousness or will, all at once 
becomes prolific, and distributes himself " lying 
on eternity and the stars." The gods Brahma, 
Vishnu, and Shiva are the result, being the cre- 
ating, preserving, and destroying powers of Brahm 
or the Universe, adored, however, as separate and 
even contending divinities. Indeed, all things 
are deified in the Brahminic faith, men and dev- 
ils, sun, moon, and stars, all mountains and val- 
leys, all seas and streams, all hills and groves, all 
plants and animals, all insects and reptiles. These, 
in fact, are but the natural development of the 
supreme divinity. All the powers of nature, 
male and female, are adored with appropriate 
rites. Vice itself is deified and adored in end- 
less forms, and the result is universal superstition, 
universal beast-worship ; we might add vice- 
worship, for Kalee, the goddess of murder, has 
myriad votaries. The Thugs or Stranglers are 
her sedulous devotees. They murder as an act 
of devotion. 

In Brahminism the most hideous ceremonies, 

Jablonsky's Pantheon iEgyptiorum ; Wilkinson's Manners of the 
Ancient Egyptians ; De Pauw, Recherches Philosophiques sur les 
Egyptlens et les Chinois ; Kenrick's Egypt under the Pharaohs. 



56 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and even the most revolting crimes, are strangely 
mingled with sublime imaginings and thrilling 
fancies. God, as the absolute, is the beginning 
and end of all, an echo and exaggeration of the 
truth, but in this system a monstrous error. " His 
oneness," say the Shastres, " is so absolute, that 
it not only excludes the possibility of any other 
god, coordinate and subordinate, but excludes the 
possibility of aught else, human or angelic, mate- 
vial or immaterial." Thence he is conceived not 
only as in all and through all, but as positively 
and exclusively All, whether sun or star, weed or 
flower, reptile or man, vice or virtue. " Possessed 
of innumerable heads," says one of the Vedas, 
written, according to Sir William Jones, 1500 
years before Christ, and according to Mr. Cole- 
brooke even earlier than that, " innumerable eyes, 
innumerable feet, Brahm fills the heavens and 
earth ; he is whatever was, whatever will be ; he 
is the source of universal motion ; he is the light 
of the moon, the sun, the fire, the lightning. The 
Veda is the breath of his nostrils, the primary 
elements are his sight, the agitation of human 
affairs is his laughter, his sleep is the destruction 
of the universe. In different forms he cherishes 
his creatures ; in the form of air he preserves 
them, in the form of water he satisfies them, in 
the form of the sun he guides them in the affairs 
of life, and in that of the moon he refreshes them 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 57 

in sleep ; the progression of time forms his foot- 
steps ; all the gods to him are as sparks of fire. 
To him I bow, I bow." 

Hence a return to Brahm, — the silent, the un- 
conscious, the eternal, — becomes the dream and 
desire of all. Utter absorption is the longing of 
the Brahmin and the Soudra, the philosopher and 
the peasant, the saint and the sinner. Through 
countless migrations from body to body, he hopes 
at last to reach the abyss.* 

In Budhism the idea of the divine seems all 
but lost ; but this, we doubt not, was its original 
foundation ; though now the majority of its vota- 
ries deny the existence of an eternal, that is, of 
a conscious, ever-living God, and long for nig- 
han } that is annihilation or absorption. Gauda- 
ma, or Budh, was once on earth, but passing away 
has himself reached annihilation, or the Burchan 
state. Budh, indeed, is properly a generic term, 
meaning the divinity, w 7 hile Gaudama (among 
the Burmans, particularly) is the name of their 
last Budh, regarded by some of the Hindoos as 
the ninth incarnation of Vishnu, the same, there- 



* For a brief popular account of the Hindoo religion, see F. D. 
W. Ward's India and the Hindoos, pp. 267-277. Those who de- 
sire more extended information must consult Colebrooke's Essay, 
Miscellanies, &c, Sir William Jones's Works, Ward's View of 
the Hindoos, and The Journal of the Asiatic Society. Compare 
Van Bohlen's Das Alte Indien, and A. W. Schlegel en the Bhagavad 
Gita. 



58 CHUTST IN HISTORY. 

fore, as Krishna, who is supposed to have lived 
about the sixth century before Christ. Among 
the Burmans and others, he is simply a deified 
man, who has attained nigban. They expect 
another Budh many thousand years hence; in 
the mean while, they worship only images, and 
literally have no god.* Here, then, amid forms 
and beliefs, which at first sight appear atheistic, 
we have the indestructible longing after infinite 
and eternal Being, which, in its reality, is God. 
The return to the All is but the dim shadow, per- 
haps the fatal corruption of the sublime idea of 
the soul's return to the " Father of * spirits." It 
would seem, indeed, as if the entire Oriental mind 
revolved around this idea, and longed, blindly 
and instinctively, for this ineffable result. After 
all, their Burchan state is not absolute extinction, 
but impersonal repose in the bosom of God. 

Another great element of the faith of the Orien- 
tals, which we find in many diversified forms, is the 
possible coming of God to man, as well as the 

* Malcom's Travels, vol. i. pp. 241-248. Mr. Malcom endeavors 
to show that Budhism is older than Brahminism. But his arguments 
are not satisfactory. The probabilities are all in favor of its being 
the last result of material pantheism. It exists in different forms 
among the nations of Farther India. The best authorities represent 
it as a branch or a shoot of Brahminism. Its essential principle, 
namely, absorption, after endless changes, in Brahm, or the All, is 
the same. See Bitter, Hist, of An. Ph. i. p. 93 ; see also the second 
part of F. W. Schegel's Language and Wisdom of the Indians ; 
Icon. Cyclo. vol. iv. p. 233. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 59 

possible return of man to God. The idea of God's 
becoming man, and man's becoming God, is the 
mystic circle in which all their thoughts revolve. 
Nothing is more familiar to their minds than the 
possibility of divine incarnations, and the con- 
sequent possibility of human transformations. 
Somehow, God and man, the infinite and the 
finite spirit, must become one. 

Is not this, too, in reality, the basis of all our 
western religions ? Nay, is it not the very essence 
of all religion, as a spiritual power intended to 
restore man to the lost image of God, and thus 
make him one with God ? The western mind 
indeed clings to the great fact of personality, 
maintaining not only the personality of man, but 
the personality of God; but it recognizes the pos- 
sibility of interior and eternal unity, and conse- 
quently easily adopts the doctrine of a divine 
incarnation, and on the basis of this, the idea of 
a human transformation. Hence " the incarna- 
tion" and "the new birth" are the fundamental 
and most profoundly cherished truths of Chris- 
tianity. 

In a word, from his very nature man longs for 
some special manifestation of God, in such form 
as he can appreciate, and on the ground of this, 
for some sacred and eternal union with the Source 
of being and happiness. He must have a Re- 
deemer and a heaven ; in default of which he 



GO CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

invents his Brahmas, his Krishnas and Osirises, 
his " lords many and gods many," his Nig-bans 
and Burchans, his Mount Merus and Elysian 
Fields, 






CHAPTER III. 

THE CENTRAL PRINCIPLE, OR CHRIST IN ANCIENT 
RELIGION. 

One of the most interesting and well-devel- 
oped religions of the ancient world, the remains 
of which yet linger in many parts of Asia, es- 
pecially in Persia, is that of the Zend-Avesta, 
(Fire-kindler, or Living Word,) the sacred book 
of the Parsees, or ancient fire-worshippers. Con- 
siderable dispute exists as to the primitive form 
of this religion, and some apparently well- 
grounded doubts have been cast upon the genu- 
ineness of the Zend-Avesta. Many learned men, 
however, allow it, in the main, to be the work or 
compilation of their great religious teacher, Zer- 
dusht, or Zoroaster, who is supposed to have flour- 
ished before the time of Cyrus. Still the work 
is fragmentary, consisting mainly of occasional 
institutes, prayers, and other liturgical forms. 
Those most competent to form an opinion say 
that it has the appearance of a work consisting 
of some original materials, with successive ad- 
ditions and emendations. It was brought origi- 
nally from India by Anquetil Du Perron, by whom 
6 " ( 61 > 



62 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

it was translated and published in 1771, and has 
ever since been the subject of frequent discus- 
sion among Oriental scholars. Upon the whole, 
we are compelled, from the present state of the 
evidence, to conclude that its genuineness, or at 
least its extreme antiquity, is a matter of great 
doubt.* Zerdusht himself begins to appear al- 
most as a mythic character.! Still the probabil- 
ity is, that there was such a personage, and that 
he gave form and pressure to the old Magian 
faith. Dean Prideaux . and some other learned 
men think that the compiler of the Zend-Avesta 
derived much of his knowledge from the Hebrew 
Scriptures, perhaps from Daniel, and the Jewish 
exiles long resident among the Magi at the court 
of the Chaldean monarch. The supposition may 
not appear incredible, though not decisively con- 
firmed by historical facts. Be this, however, as 
it may, it is well known that, while the Jews of 
Babylon preserved intact their own religious 
views, holding them, in the later days of their 
exile, with an exclusive and tenacious grasp, they 



* At a recent meeting of the Bombay Asiatic Society, Dr. Wilson 
read the opinion of Professor Westergaard, of Copenhagen, "the 
first of Zend scholars," that the sacred books of the Parsees have 
no such antiquity as has been claimed for them, but are written in 
a dialect of modern Persian, disguised by a corrupted alphabet. 

f " Zoroaster," says Niebuhr, Ancient Hist. i. p. 53, " whatever 
has been said as to his historical existence, is for us no more than 
a mythical name." 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 63 

communicated them extensively to others. It is 
also certain that at some period or other, perhaps 
at successive periods, Magianism was greatly mod- 
ified from some extraneous source. If, then, we 
find in it sentiments akin to those of Judaism, it 
need occasion us no surprise. Still it has a 
character of its own, sufficiently indicating its 
mythical nature and human origin. 

The primitive religious system of the ancient 
Persians, upon which it was ingrafted, was sim- 
ply a worship of the elements of nature, fire, air, 
earth, and water, the winds and starry heavens, 
especially the sun, moon, and brighter planets. 
Having no temples, they sacrificed, upon the 
mountains, living animals, but without burning 
their bodies. From Media came new views and 
forms, which were probably incorporated with 
this service of nature, whence originated what is 
called the Medo-Persian or Magian religion. 
Horn, greatly venerated by his successors, was 
the founder of the Magi, and of the first form 
of the Magian faith. It was from Zerdusht, how- 
ever, according to Persian tradition, that the sys- 
tem received its highest development. To him 
the composition of the Zend-Avesta is generally 
ascribed. 

It teaches the doctrine of one supreme and 
eternal Being, (Zeruane Akherene, translated by 
some Time without Bounds ; more correctly by 



G4 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

others, Existence without Bounds*) who, like the 
Brahm of Indian pantheism, seems to be imper- 
sonal and incomprehensible, and yet has some 
attributes akin to the Jehovah of the Hebrew 
Scriptures. He is represented as the great pri- 
mal Cause or Creator, but appears, as Gibbon 
and others have observed, rather as a metaphys- 
ical abstraction, like the celebrated Das Nichts 
of Hegel, than as an active and presiding deity. 
Hence the series of emanations, spiritual and 
material, divine and demonic, to which the be- 
lief gave rise. 

It differs, however, from pantheism, in being a 
system of dualism; though, we confess., the dual- 
ism is lost in what metaphysicians would call 
the principle of a higher identity ; so that, as 
all things flow from unity and perfection, all 
must return thither. From this original source 
of existence, according to the Zend-Avesta, 
sprang Ormuzd and Ahriman, the one represent- 
ing the principle of good, the other representing 
the principle of evil. These, though sometimes 
spoken of as created by the Supreme Deity, after 
all are but the manifestation, as we understand 
it, of absolute, eternal being. Both, indeed, at first, 

* Du Perron and Kleuker translate it " Time without Bounds." 
Van Bohlen says that it is analogous to the Sanscrit Sarvam Aka- 
ranam, the Uncreated Whole. Fred. W. Schlegel translates the 
equivalent expression as Unum Indivisibile, Indivisible One. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. Q5 

were good ; but Ahriman, through envy or some 
other cause, fell into sin, and became the repre- 
sentative and agent of evil. Sometimes he is 
spoken of as bad from the beginning, and only 
suffered to come into existence ; but in a legend- 
ary system like this we must expect some in- 
congruities. The idea of the One God being 
gradually lost, or retained as a mere metaphysical 
entity, Ormuzd and Ahriman were worshipped 
as the supreme divinities, from whom are all 
beings and all things, good and bad. Hence the 
dualism and contest of the universe ; but Ormuzd, 
being regarded as superior to Ahriman weakened 
by sin, Ormuzd will finally obtain the victory, 
and introduce an eternal reign of righteousness 
and peace. 

Ormuzd is pure, eternal light, the fount of all 
beauty and perfection. Through Honover, the 
Word, he created the external universe from an 
ethereal substance, like the Hyle of Plato, and 
completed his work in six periods. At first he 
created his own dwelling, the heaven of light, 
and the pure spirits who occupy it. From him 
are the Amschaspands, good angels and spir- 
its, of whom there are different orders, a sort 
of angelic or divine hierarchy, of which Or- 
muzd is chief. One of these is lord of the 
empire of light, king of the universe, and dis- 
penser of all happiness ; another is the genius 



6(y CHttlST in history. 

of fire; another the lord of splendor and metals; 
another the source of all fruitfulness ; another the 
genius of water and of time; and another pro- 
tector of the vegetable world, and the cause of 
growth in all living things. 

In the second class of spirits which he created 
are the Izeds, of whom there are twenty-eight of 
both sexes, presiding over the elements and all 
pure things. Among these Mithras, the Sun, is 
the chief, being the source of all vivifying and 
fructifying power. 

All these, including Ormuzd, and all other 
beings, as in the Platonic theogony, have their 
Feruers, or types, being ideas or emanations of 
the eternal mind embodied. These occupy the 
world of light where Ormuzd dwells, where they 
sparkle with ineffable light, and constitute the 
fundamental idea of a perfect world. Every 
emanation or creation of the great central being 
is but the manifestation, in some palpable form, 
of a new Feruer. Each, too, constitutes a sort 
of divine messenger, with spreading wings, flying 
to the protection of the good whenever invoked 
by them. 

The bad spirits, of which there are various 
orders, superior and inferior, Devs and Archdevs, 
the impersonations of vices, impurities, and all 
noxious (tiings, are from Ahriman, who created 
a rival world, and opposed the reign of Ormuzd. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 67 

Tn the mean while, Ahriman being confined in 
the kingdom of darkness, Ormuzd continued to 
create the outer world, with its suns and stars, 
winds, clouds, and fire, mountains and seas, veg- 
etable and animal life. He created the bull 
Abudad, from whose blood all living things have 
sprung. 

The good and happy spirits at first dwelt with 
Ormuzd in light. All were created pure, and for 
a long time (three thousand years) lived in happi- 
ness under Ormuzd. At last Ahriman, let loose, 
attempted to storm the heavens, and being re- 
pulsed, attacked the earth, and killed Abudad ; 
but the body of the bull became the germ of all 
kinds of animals and of the first man, whom also 
the Devs put to death. Ormuzd then made a 
plant, Reivas, — " man and woman combined," — 
to grow out of the body, from which sprang, 
at the end of fifteen years, fifteen pairs of 
human beings, the progenitors of the present 
race. 

Disappointed in his previous failures, Ahriman 
sought now to destroy the new-made creation. 
He blackened the fire with smoke, formed various 
kinds of noxious animals, and finally seduced 
from their allegiance the human race. In course 
of time, he gained such influence over them that 
he led them wholly to forsake the worship of 



68 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Ormuzd, and join the Devs, or Devils, in all their 
practices.* 

Ormuzd, who pitied the human race, sent to 
them his law, first by Horn, and then by Zerdusht; 
but the people paid no regard to it, and so Ahri- 
man remained victorious for three thousand 
years. 

Ahriman will thus continue to reign until the 
expiration of time, when Sosioshj the promised 
Savior or Redeemer, w 7 ill come and extinguish 
the powers of the Devs, raise the dead, and pro- 
nounce judgment upon angels and men. A 

* The following is a different form of the tradition, and striking- 
ly akin to the scriptural account of the origin and fall of man. 
" The world itself was created during five succcessive periods, and 
during a sixth man himself received his being. After his pro- 
duction, man enjoyed a period of innocence and happiness in an el- 
evated region, which Ormuzd had assigned him. But it was neces- 
sary to his existence in this state that he should be humble of heart, 
and humbly obey the divine ordinances ; pure he must be of thought, 
pure of word, pure of deed. And for a time the first pair were thus 
holy and happy. But at last Ahriman, the Evil One, appeared and 
beat down their good dispositions, and under the influence of his 
glossing lies, they began to ascribe their blessings to him. Thus 
Ahriman deceived them, and to the end will seek to deceive. Em- 
boldened by this success, Ahriman, the liar, presented himself 
again, and brought with him fruit, of which they ate; and in 
that instant, of a hundred excellences, which they possessed, all 
but one departed from them, and they became subject to misery and 
death." Another statement compresses the legend into this brief 
myth: "Ahriman, after having dared to visit heaven, descended 
to the earth, and approaching man in the form of a serpent, poi- 
soned him with venom, so that he died. From that time, the world 
fell into confusion. The destroyer mingled himself with every 
thing." 



ANCIENT RELIGION. b9 

general conflagration, through the casting down 
of the comet Gurzsher, will ensue, and the re- 
mains of the world sink downwards into Duzakh, 
forming a place of punishment for the wicked. 
After a long lapse of time, Ormuzd will have 
compassion upon them, and admit to heaven 
those who seek it by penitence and prayer. 
Even Ahriman and the Devs, after a longer 
period of punishment, and a proper submission 
to Ormuzd, will be admitted to the regions of 
eternal day. 

" The kingdoms of Ormuzd and Ahriman," 
says the Zend-Avesta, " are in continual contest 
with one another ; but Ahriman will hereafter be 
conquered ; the reign of darkness will be alto- 
gether at an end ; the rule of Ormuzd will be 
universally extended ; and an all-embracing king- 
dom of light will alone remain."* 

The night, with its innumerable stars, the 
" old eternal night," as the Magians deemed it, 
was the proper symbol of the great primal Cause, 
.and in early times, as we have seen, was an 
object of religious homage. It was ever deemed 
sacred by the Oriental philosophers, and was the 
principal season of Magian worship. But as 
Ormuzd was the fountain of light, the sun was 
his fittest symbol, and in the absence of the sun, 

* The whole period over which the system passes is that of twelve 
thousand years, subdivided into periods each of three thousand years. 



70 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the sacred fire, which they kindled and kept con- 
stantly burning under the open heavens. Other 
symbols were used, as the chariot and horses of 
the sun, which the ancestors of King Josiah, 
after the example of the Mehestani, or followers 
of Zoroaster, introduced into Jerusalem. The 
sun was considered by the Mehestani as the eye 
of Ormuzd, and next to the Amschaspands, the 
greatest of all divinities. His beauty and splen- 
dor filled them with adoration and joy. They 
described the chariot of the sun as being of a 
white color, with wreathed garlands of flowers. 
The sacred horses were white also, of the Nisean 
breed, and four in number.* 

In this way the worship of the sun, the sacred 
fire, and other symbols', with a host of angels and 
spirits, usurped the worship of the true God, and 
must be recognized as a form of superstition, in 
the end nearly as degrading as that of Jupiter 
or Apollo.f 

But how striking an image or shadow of the 
truth this whole Magian system! Blended with 
errors, it yet reminds us of the great and eternal 
principles recognized in the pure theism of the 
Scriptures. But losing the proper conception 



* Jahn's Bib. Archaeology, p. 521. 

f See Hyde, Historia Relig. Vet. Persarum ; Du Perron and 
Kleuker on the Zend-Avesta ; Rhode, Heilige Sage der Zendvolks ; 
Hitter's An. Ph. 1. p. 51, et seq. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 71 

of the one supreme Jehovah, lapsing first into 
nature-worship, and then into symbol-worship, 
it serves to prove not* only the indestructible 
religious tendency of man, but his proneness to 
idolatry, and through idolatry to sin.* Mingling 
with astrology and magic, the religion of Zoroas- 
ter became as monstrous and bewildering as the 
other Oriental superstitions. 

Thus idolatry, with its equivalent, nature-wor- 
ship or demon-worship, was introduced and per- 
petuated among some of the most enlightened 
nations of antiquity ; and it seems to be an ac- 
knowledged fact, that, once established in a com- 
munity, it becomes fixed there forever. Man 
appears to possess no power to deliver himself 
from its terrible domination. Hungering after 
the divine, he knows it not. By a necessary 
descent into error " he changes the glory of the 
incorruptible God into an image made like to 
corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed 
beasts, and creeping things." 

* By idolatry here, we do not mean the formal worship of idols, 
from which the Parsees are free, but idolatry in its essence, which 
is the substitution in the place of God, of any beings or things, as 
objects of adoration. 

f The case of the Arabians under Mohammed is no exception. 
Accepting the Old Testament revelation as to the unity of God, 
and acknowledging the divine mission of Moses and of Christ, Mo- 
hammed availed himself of extraneous aid to banish idolatry from 
his system. « 



72 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

With the elements of superstition thus engen- 
dered, were mingled from time to time, both 
among the nations of tlie east and of the west, 
the ideals and fictions of poetry, the forebodings 
of fear, and the delusions of oracular divination. 
Every where man felt and acknowledged his 
guilt, and longed for expiation and deliverance. 
Victims bled upon ten thousand heathen altars. 
Life was given for life, as an avowal of its for- 
feiture by sin. Designing men, of course, took 
advantage of the popular belief, and dreams, 
portents, prodigies, oracles, were rapidly accu- 
mulated. To gratify human pride, never extin- 
guished even by a sense of guilt, and yet meet 
the natural longing for a godlike form of man, 
as the most beautiful symbol, perhaps dwelling 
of the divine, and especially to extend the influ- 
ence of the priesthood, heroes and sages were 
elevated to the celestial regions and adored as 
divinities. Nor was this so unnatural as many 
suppose ; for who more likely to be transformed 
into divinities than those who had done nobly 
for their race ? Every hill, valley, and stream, 
every house and craft, must have its tutelary god. 
The woods were filled, as in Greece, where the 
popular superstition was somewhat elegant and 
cheerful, though profoundly sensual, with nymphs, 
fauns, and satyrs ; the air was replenished with 
genii, the ocean with nereids and'tritons. All 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 73 

nature throbbed with spiritual forms, some beau- 
tiful and good, but many dark and malignant. 
Poetry and passion, selfishness and even lust, 
venerable usage and the traditions of " eld," all 
combined to consolidate and extend the bewil- 
dering error. The dim notions of a supreme 
Numen, or Deity, to which we have referred, were 
overborne by universal superstition. So that 
neither in Assyria, Persia, India, Egypt, nor 
Greece, during any historical period with which 
the moderns are familiar, was any general or in- 
telligent worship paid to the eternal God. If 
recognized at all, it was only as primus inter 
pares, or as the changeless essence, the absolute 
and incomprehensible fountain of gods and men. 
With the single exception of " the chosen peo- 
ple," themselves at first idolaters, the whole 
ancient world fell under the curse of idolatry, or 
nature-worship, and instead of casting off the 
baleful incubus, only sank, during the lapse of 
ages, deeper and deeper into the abyss.* 

Where a moral and prudential code was the 
principal aim, as in the case of Confucius, (Con- 
futse, or rather Chung-Tse,) the great religious 
teacher of China, who seems to have cherished 
but a comparatively feeble idea of an invisible 
and eternal state, superstition elevated the master 
to the place of God, and adopted him as " the 

* See Appendix, Note A, at the close of the volume. 

7 



74 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

way, the truth, and the life." But Budhism, and 
in many instances the lowest Fetichism, became 
the prevalent superstition of the Celestial Empire.* 
So that every where men " worshipped and 
served the creature more than the Creator, who 
is God over all, blessed forever." 

Among the Oriental nations, grand, massive 
and immovable, like the vast plains or lofty 
mountain ranges of that part of the world, the 

* The original religion of China was a sort of nature-worship, 
based, as F. W. Schlegel thinks, upon the unity of God. Tian, 
who represented the heavens, was their principal deity. Other 
spirits, presiding over the earth, the stars, the winds, &c., with the 
souls of deceased ancestors, were adored. Lao-Tse first reformed, 
or perhaps corrupted, this religion, by a modification of Lamaism, 
which he found in Thibet. He inculcated a sort of stoical indiffer- 
ence and serenity ; but his system is Epicurean as a whole. It is 
idolatrous, and yet it is sceptical. The higher classes in China are 
its votaries. But Chung-Tse, or Confucius, as we call him, is the 
great teacher of the Chinese. He endeavored to bring back the 
people to the religion of their fathers, but his chief object was to 
inculcate moral principles, among which are sobriety, prudence, 
reverence for superiors, justice, and obedience to the laws. He 
recognized a great first Cause, but only as an impersonal principle, 
or power, from which emanated Yang and Yen, the one the perfect 
principle, and of the masculine gender, and the other the imperfect, 
and of the feminine gender, from whom are all things. Confucius 
forbade his followers to make images of the supreme Cause, and con- 
joined with his worship the adoration of the elements, which he 
comprised under the name of Tien, heaven. But Confucius himself, 
or his tablet, and deceased ancestors, are the chief objects of rever- 
ence among his followers. The great body of the people, however, in- 
cluding the emperor and court, are Budhists. Foism, another name 
for Budhism, Lamaism, also a modification of Budhism, and Fetich- 
ism, the lowest form of idolatry, are spread over the whole of India 
beyond the Ganges. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 75 

forms of idolatry were more fixed and perma- 
nent. In Greece and Rome, and even in Egypt, 
and some parts of Western Asia, they were quite 
variable. The spirit of doubt and inquiry al- 
ways actuated the Grecian mind. Some of the 
acutest intellects doubted the popular myths 
even as early as the times of Plato and Aristotle. 
Socrates, it is evident, though not entirely free 
from the common influence, perhaps saw through 
them, while recognizing their great underlying 
truths.* He was averse, however, to the de- 
structive spirit of some of the sophists, who made 
them a subject of ridicule. Feeling the necessity 
of faith in a supreme Power, it wa? hh aim, by 
means of some of the more legitimate and beau- 
tiful myths, to rise into a higher sphere. Plato 
frequently uses the vulgar superstitions as illus- 
trations of his grand and thrilling conceptions. 
Aristotle says expressly, " It has been handed 
down to us in a mythical form, from the remotest 
times, that there are gods, and that the divine 
(to devop^ the divinity) compasses entire nature. f 
All beside this has been added after the mythical 

* We say perhaps here, for much put into the mouth of Socrates 
in the Platonic dialogues is to be ascribed rather to the scholar than to 
the master. Socrates himself, as reported in Plato's Apologia, averred 
his belief in the popular religion. In practice, he sedulously wor- 
shipped the national gods. He taught nothing inconsistent with 
polytheism. 

f The word Btiov here translated the divine, is elsewhere used by 
Aristotle as equivalent to 6eo$, the supreme divinity. 



76 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

style, for the sake of persuading the multitudes, 
and for the interest of the laws and the advan- 
tage of the state. Thus men have given to the 
gods human forms, and have even represented 
them under the figure of other beings, in the 
train of which fictions followed more of the same 
sort. But if we separate from all this the origi- 
nal principle, and consider it alone, namely, that 
the first essences are gods, [divine,] we shall find 
that this has been divinely said ; and since it is 
probable that philosophy and the arts have been 
several times, so far as that is possible, lost, such 
doctrines may have been preserved to our times, 
as the remains of ancient wisdom." * 

At last, both in Greece and in Rome, the popu- 
lar mythology lost its hold at once of the more 
cultivated and the common intellect. The doubts 
of the philosophers diffused themselves among 
the vulgar. Although religion, as such, could not 
altogether be abandoned, it is evident that the 
people generally had outgrown the crude mytho- 
logical faith of their fathers. The conduct of 
the gods, as well it might, became a standing 
joke to the comic writers, and multitudes of all 
classes fell into blank atheism. 

Hence the great problem of serious and can- 
did minds was to find, either in connection with 

* Quoted by Neander from Aristotle's Metaphysics. 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 77 

the myths, or back of them, some fundamental 
ground of belief. The populace indeed fell into 
vice, or hankered after new superstitions, but 
thinkers and moralists longed for principles. 
Some endeavored to rest upon the idea of a su- 
preme Cause and the immortality of the soul, 
though both of these truths were only imperfectly 
conceived, and not always fully realized even by 
the best minds. Cicero himself, in his De Natura 
Deorum, though believing in a supreme Power, 
and affirming the necessity of religion, often 
seems at a loss what to believe respecting the 
gods, and refers to the perplexity of others upon 
the same subject. His writings, while theistic 
as a whole, abound in academic doubts. Quite 
a number fell into a sort of natural pantheism, 
and resigned themselves to The All, whence 
they had come and whither they must return. 
Stoicism, with its stern indifference, often as- 
sumed this attitude. Many strong minds lapsed 
into despair. Denying the value of all religion 
as superstition or fancy, they saw nothing in the 
universe but an eternal cycle (xukAoc) or circular 
succession of changes, in which by and by they 
must forever be ingulfed. Man appeared like 
a vexed bubble upon the heaving tide, now in 
sunshine, then in shadow, and anon broken 
and forever lost. " All religion," says the elder 
Pliny, with Epicurean scorn, " is the offspring of 



78 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

necessity, weakness, and fear. What God is, if 
in truth he be any thing distinct from the world, 
it is beyond the compass «of man's under- 
standing to know. But it is a foolish delusion, 
which has sprung from human weakness and 
pride, to imagine that such an infinite Spirit 
would concern himself with the petty affairs of 
men. . . . The vanity of man, and his in- 
satiable longing after existence, have led him 
also to dream of a life after death. A being full 
of contradictions, he is the most wretched of 
creatures ; since the other creatures have no 
wants transcending the bounds of their nature. 
Man is full of desires and wants that reach to 
infinity, and can never be satisfied. His nature 
is a lie, — uniting the greatest poverty with the 
greatest pride. Among these so great evils, the 
best thing God has bestowed upon man is the 
power of taking his own life." * It was in this 
temper, that Pliny was willing to perish under 
the ashes of Vesuvius. 

Others, however, could not be satisfied with 
doubt ; and so they tried to solve, as best they 
could, the strange enigma and contradiction of 
human nature. They could not altogether be- 
lieve, neither could they altogether renounce reli- 
gion. Some, as Euemerus, resolved all mythology 

* Pliny, Nat. Hist ii. 4, apud Neander, Ch. Hist. i. 10 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 79 

into a poetical history of nature or of society ; while 
others, like Plutarch, saw in it the corruption of 
a purer faith, though without the power of real- 
izing fully their own grand and beautiful idea. 
Many sought refuge in foreign opinions and 
usages, though not with much satisfaction ; and 
a few insisted, that, while superstitions ought 
to be abandoned, religion, of whose divine beau- 
ty they had some conception, was good and true. 
Seneca recommended his disciples to worship 
the gods, as a thing due to good manners, but 
to rely upon something else as a ground of con- 
viction and hope in reference to duty and destiny. 
It thus came to pass that ingenuous inquirers 
after truth hardly knew what to believe, or what 
to disbelieve, in perusing the writings or attend- 
ing the teachings of the so called philosophers. 
Some plunged irremediably into the prevalent 
Epicureanism, and so lived for the hour. Others 
committed suicide, or willingly lost their lives in 
battle ; while others, like Clemens Romanus and 
Justin Martyr, alternated constantly between 
belief and unbelief, hope and despair. They went 
from the Peripatetics to the Stoics, and from the 
Stoics to the Platonics, but all seemed to them 
confusion, contradiction, and doubt.* 

* Is this wonderful when even Xenophanes, whose sublime ac- 
knowledgment of the one God we have already quoted, found in the 
little he knew only doubt and difficulty ? His state of mind is strik- 



80 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

This, in fact, was the period of transition, when 
paganism, incapable of emancipating itself, pro- 
claimed its vanity and weakness, and yet gave 
incontestable token of " man's old eternal want." 

For in all ages, amid error and superstition, cer- 
tain elder truths, certain instinctive convictions, 
maintained their place with more or less per- 
sistence. The idea of worship, of dependence 
upon spiritual powers, of obligation to the divine, 
the hope or dread of a future state, figured under 
the dream of Tartarus and the Elysian Fields, the 
necessity of mediation and atonement, of reunion 
and eternal life in the bosom of God, were never 
altogether lost. Often the night was dark and 
portentous ; but anon the everlasting stars were 
visible in the heavens. Nay, the hope of some 
spiritual deliverer, especially among the more 
thoughtful nations, the longing for a divine 
Teacher, to which reference may be found in 



ingly described by Timon, the Sillograph, who puts into the mouth 
of Xenophanes these words : — 

" that mine were the deep mind, prudent, and looking to both 
sides ! 
Long, alas ! have I strayed on the road of error, beguiled, 
And am now hoary of years, yet exposed to doubt and destruction 
Of all kinds ; for, wherever I turn to consider, 
I am lost in the One and All." 

The difficulty with Xenophanes lay in his pantheism, or rather his 
inability to distinguish between the one and the all. See Ritter, 
Hist, of Ph. i. 44& 



ANCIENT RELIGION. 81 

Plato,* some mighty Redeemer, Son of God, or 
Savior of man, developed itself, with more or 
less significance, through the long lapse of ages. 
The sun had not yet risen, but lights were gleam- 
ing at distant intervals, relieving the terrible 
gloom of the long polar night, or heralding the 
dawn of the approaching day.f 

It might be desirable in this connection to trace 
the origin and transmission of the great primeval 
faith, scattered in " sporadic revelations," as Ne- 
ander aptly calls them, or in traditional frag- 
ments, among all the nations, from the first Eden 
down through the antediluvian believers, the 
Seths and Enochs of that early time, and sub- 
sequently through the patriarchs and prophets, 
with other saintly and priestly men of the post- 
diluvian age ; the Noahs, the Abrahams, the 
Melchisedecs, the Jobs, and the Moseses of an- 
cient inspiration; but this we defer for the pres- 
ent, which we do the more readily from the fact 
that the subject is somewhat familiar to all. Our 
knowledge of the Adamic and patriarchal ages is 
derived exclusively from the Scriptures, whose 



* In the Second Alcibiades and elsewhere. See Dr. Lewis's Pla- 
tonic Theology, pp. 367, 368. 

f Those who wish to see this idea carried out, and more amply dis- 
cussed, are referred to Trench's Hulsean Lectures, where the " un- 
conscious prophecies of heathenism" are cited and discussed with 
much candor and ability. 



bZ CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

simple annals bring down the history of true re- 
ligion from its first revelation in Paradise to its 
final establishment in the kingdom of Christ. 

In the mean while we will devote a chapter to 
the consideration of ancient philosophy, as culti- 
vated among the more enlightened heathen na- 
tions, as an element of progress, and a prepara- 
tion for Christ. 



CHAPTER IV* 

THE CENTRAL IDEA, OR CHRIST IN ANCIENT 
PHILOSOPHY. 

The human mind is under the necessity of 
bringing all things into unity : it is itself a unit , 
nature therefore must appear to it as a unit, or 
universe. Again, each man, as well as each so- 
ciety, and of course the entire race, stands, so to 
speak, between two infinites, or two eternities ; 
though these are only one, in which we are em- 
bosomed, like islands in a boundless sea. And 
as nothing can happen without the supposition 
of an adequate cause, mankind must ascribe their 
origin to the One Supreme Power, whether named 
Mind, Reason, Spirit, Creator, or God. 

Thus man, the moment he begins to reflect 
profoundly, finds himself pressed on all sides by 
the idea of the Infinite and Eternal. Thought 
presupposes and necessitates this idea. It be- 
gins with this, ends with this ; for it ever starts 
from a limit, as it comes to a limit, beyond 
which it must acknowledge the presence of 

* This chapter, with some modifications, was published as an arti- 
cle in the January number of the Christian Review for 1853. 

(83) 



84 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

absolute and eternal being ; precisely as a part 
begins with a whole, ends with a whole. The 
segment of a circle, nay, its slightest line or ra- 
dius, presupposes the existence of that circle ; 
time presupposes eternity ; the mind of man pre- 
supposes the mind of God. For if there be a 
finite, there must also be an infinite mind. The 
temporary thought of man necessitates the eter- 
nal thought of God. This is the mysterious cir- 
cle, within which, whether he sees it or not, all 
the reasonings of man revolve. 

There are those, indeed, who, in their investi- 
gations, keep assiduously w T ithin the fragmentary 
and mechanical ; notwithstanding their inquiries 
are always coming to a limit, beyond w 7 hich may 
be descried that infinite ocean into which they so 
much fear to plunge. As finite minds they lean 
upon eternity and God, " in whom they live and 
move and have their being," even at the mo- 
ment that they hesitate to acknowledge the stu- 
pendous fact. Their philosophy, however, is 
shallow and transient ; and though useful per- 
haps to material interests, leaves them without 
any real beauty or grandeur of thought. 

But the great majority of thinkers will con- 
stantly transcend such narrow bounds, and press 
the inquiry, Whence are we, and whither do ive 
go? 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 85 

This is the real origin of speculative philosophy, 
especially in its higher range — a philosophy ever 
soliciting attention, ever attracting thinkers. The 
ocean of thought, indeed, is boundless, and many 
swift ships founder in its mysterious depths; 
nevertheless all human souls, freighted with any 
great ideas, must sail thereupon. Shore or no 
shore, they must adventure their all upon its 
heaving billows. Hence one of the most interest- 
ing elements of ancient civilization, especially in 
the more enlightened communities, is speculative 
philosophy. Its relation to Christ, though hinted 
at already, deserves our candid consideration. 

The early fathers of the church, Justin Mar- 
tyr, Clement of Alexandria, the author of the 
Epistle to Diognetus, (sometimes ascribed to 
Justin Martyr, but assigned, by Semisch and 
Neander, to another,) Tertullian, Origen, and 
others, while acknowledging its obvious defects, 
allow that it embodied portions of the truth, and 
formed a preparation for Christ. The apostle 
Paul himself refers to the manifestation of God 
in the mind of the heathen, as rendering them 
"without excuse" in departing from the truth. 
" Because that which may be known of God is 
manifest in them ; for God hath showed it unto 
them ; for the invisible things of him from the 
creation of the world are clearly seen, being 
understood by the things that are made, even 



86 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

his eternal power and godhead ; so that they are 
without excuse." * He affirms, indeed, in another 
place, that " the world by wisdom knew not 
God," that is, adequately and satisfactorily ; for, 
after all, philosophy, especially in its later develop- 
ments, was a failure. It gave no rest to the weary 
conscience of man, and left the way of life in the 
greatest obscurity. Still it nourished a few great 
characters, and produced a dim and often passion- 
ate longing for a higher light. Some pious and 
learned men have even gone so far as to regard 
Socrates, Plato, Plutarch, and some others, as a 
sort of Christians by anticipation. So charmed 
was Erasmus with the character of Socrates, that 
we find him on one occasion exclaiming, Sancte 
Socrates, ova pro nobis ! 

This, possibly, is carrying the matter too far; 
nevertheless, it must be allowed that many of the 
Grecian sages, considering their circumstances, 
made some remarkable approximations to the 
central truths of the divine unity and supremacy, 
and the possibility, on the part of man, of union 
and fellowship with God. In his Stromata, 
Clement of Alexandria uses the following re- 
markable language : " Indeed, before the coming 
of the Lord, philosophy was needful to the 
Greeks, for the reformation of their lives; and 

* Rom. chap. i. v. 19, 20. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 8? 

even now it is an aid to piety, supplying, as it 
does, some rudimentary teaching for those who 
subsequently may receive the faith upon convic- 
tion. For God is, indeed, the cause of all good 
things, of some preeminently and directly, as of 
the Old and New Testaments ; of others in- 
directly, by means of reason and argument ; as 
philosophy, which he probably gave to the Greeks 
before the Lord himself came, in order to call 
them also to his service. For philosophy acted 
the part of a schoolmaster to the Greeks, as the 
law of Moses did to the Jews, for the purpose of 
bringing men to Christ, and thus preparing the 
way for such as were to be advanced by him to 
perfection." * 

It is well known that the philosophical systems 
of the ancient world, often meagre, as well as 
variant and contradictory, generally revolved 
around the idea of the Infinite, and in their 
higher forms recognized the existence of a 
supreme Intelligence, and the immortality of 
the soul.f It must not, however, be supposed 
that speculative inquiry, in any age, grasped 
fully these great truths, or held them for any 
length of time with persistent consistency. 



* Stroma ta, lib. i. c. v. 

f The doctrine of the immortality of the soul, however, in their 
view, w \s always associated with that of the metempsychosis. See 
Ritter's History of Ancient Philosophy, i. p. 156. 



88 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

It is probable, however, that, in all ages, frag- 
ments of primitive revelation have been floating 
about in the common mind. God has never, 
in this respect, left himself without a witness ; 
and who shall say that some special divine in- 
fluence may not have been exerted upon the 
minds of certain thoughtful and virtuous men 
among the heathen ? Still, ancient philosophy 
never assumed any thing like a perfect or per- 
manent form, and certainly never discovered the 
great truths of what is called " natural religion," 
except by occasional glimpses and irradiations. 

It will be allowed that the views of none ever 
rose higher than those of Socrates and Plato. 
In them, ancient philosophy reached its culminat- 
ing point. And yet Plato himself must have 
regarded his inquiries as only the beginnings of 
a speculative system. Every one, familiar with 
his writings, must be struck with their variant 
and fragmentary character. His modes of rea- 
soning are far from uniform ; his opinions by no 
means coherent. A thousand questions are started 
without an attempt at solution. Many are left 
purposely obscure, as if for the sake of confounding 
inquiry.* Portions of his works are clearly myth- 



* This is strikingly exemplified in the Thecetetos, where his at- 
tempts to define science seem to fail. It is true that with Plato 
science is the real, the essential, the permanent ; but the questioa 
recurs, What is the real, the essential, the 2Jermanent f 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 89 

ical, yet how far believed by himself is an unset- 
tled question. At times he despairs of any but 
a few philosophical spirits arriving at the truth. 
He feels that none can reach the knowledge of 
the absolute and ineffable Essence, from whom 
are all things. Hence his mournful confession. 
" To discover then the Creator and Father of 
this universe, as well as his work, is indeed 
difficult, and when discovered, it is impossible 
to reveal him to mankind at large." * 

Still, Plato did teach, in forms more or less 
perfect, the existence of an infinite God, and the 
immortality of the soul, insisting strongly and 
often beautifully on its high capacity for virtue 
and everlasting life. Socrates, as an interlocutor 
in the Platonic dialogues, declares his belief of 
this consolatory doctrine. In his last hours he 
referred to it, and died, apparently, in the hope 
of a better world. We say apparently, for he 
certainly does not express the profound assur- 
ance and joyful expectation which a Christian 
is permitted to cherish. On other occasions he 
defends the immortality of the soul, as a specu- 
lative tenet ; but here he admits the possibility 
of a doubt. He seems like one "treading the 
common path into the great darkness," hoping 
to find a home, yet not knowing whether even " a 

* Timmis, c. Yiii. Compare Repub. vi. p. 506. 



90 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

thread " of consciousness will remain " to tell 
how still it is." 

u We may hence conclude," he says, " that 
there is great hope that death is a blessing. For 
to die is one of two things ; for either the dead 
may be annihilated, and have no sensation of 
any thing whatever, or, as it is said, there is a 
certain change and passage of the soul from one 
place to another. And if it is a privation of all 
sensation, as it were a sleep, in which the sleeper 
has no dream, death would be a wonderful gain.* 
For I think that if any one, having selected a 
night in which he slept so soundly as not to 
have had a dream, and having compared this 
night with all the other nights and days of his 
life, should be required on reflection to say how 
many he had passed better or more pleasantly 
than this, I think that not only a private person, 
but the great king himself, would find them easy 
to number, in comparison with other days and 
nights. If, therefore, death is such a thing, I 
say it is a gain ; for thus all futurity appears 
only as a single night. But if, on the other hand, 
death is a removal hence to some other place, 
and what is said be true, that all the dead are 
there, what greater blessing can there be than 
this, my judges ? For if, on arriving at Hades, 

* The Italics are ours. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 91 

released from those who pretend to be judges, 
one shall find those that are true judges, and 
who are said to judge there, Minos and Rhada- 
manthus, iEacus and Triptolemus, and such 
others of the demigods as were just during their 
own lives, would this be a sad removal ? At 
what price would you not estimate a conference 
with Orpheus and Musseus, Hesiod and Homer ? 
I indeed should be willing to die often, were this 
true. Most admirable would it be for me to so- 
journ there, where I should meet those ancient 
heroes who died by an unjust sentence. The 
comparing my sufferings with theirs would, I 
think, be no unpleasant occupation. But the 
greatest pleasure would be to spend my time in 
questioning the people there as I have done those 
here, and discovering who among them is wise, 
and who not, except in fancy. . . . For surely 
the judges there do not condemn to death ; 
for in other respects those who live there are 
happier than those that are here, and are thence- 
forth immortal, at least if what is said be true. 5 ' 

After remarking that all which happens to a 
good man is wisely ordered, and forgiving his 
judges for their injustice, thus giving evidence 
of a noble and serene temper, he closes with 
these memorable words : " But it is now time 
to depart, for me to die, for you to live. But 



92 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

which of us is going to a better state is known 
only to the gods." * 

But it may be said that ancient philosophy 
never went further than this ; nay, could never 
afterwards be sustained at an equal elevation. It 
rather deteriorated, now lapsing into scepticism on 
the one hand, or materialism on the other, or, in 
despite of these, into an unreasoning mysticism. 

Among the Orientals, especially of India, it 
never much transcended a sort of vague nature- 
worship, or the acknowledgment of the Infinite, 
as The All, from which the mystic thinkers of 
those dreamy regions believed they had come, 
and whither they expected to go. In one of their 
schools, it assumed the form of atheistic materi- 
alism.! In another, it terminated in absolute 
idealism. It readily blended with polytheism, 
the worship of many gods, as emanations from 
the fountain of life, and cherished the hope, not 
of an individual, conscious immortality, but of 
complete absorption in the Deity or Universe. J 

Among the Greeks, speculative inquiry, with 
inconsiderable exceptions, as in the case of Py- 
thagoras, Socrates, and Plato, a few of the 
Academics and Stoics, was rarely practical in 

* Plato's Works, Apologia, 32, 33. 

f See Cousin's Hist, de la Philos., 2d series, tome ix. 5th Lecon, 
La Sensualisme dans Ulnde, p. 110. 
J Hitter's Hist, of An. Ph. i. pp. 90, 93. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 93 

its results. The common people never received 
it. Plato' himself regarded them as incapable 
of philosophy.* Nor did it ever thoroughly free 
itself from polytheism. Occasionally it mingled 
with popular superstitions, and modified the 
character of the " Mysteries," especially among 
the better classes of society, giving to religious 
rites a deeper spiritual significance. But it oftener 
divested them of all their power. Its most com- 
mon and popular effect among the patrician fam- 
ilies was scepticism and indifference, frequently 
downright Epicureanism. 

Its fundamental problems, too, were never 
thoroughly solved. Even in modern times, few, 
indeed, among the profoundest metaphysical 
thinkers, consider them solved. A coherent 
system of spiritual philosophy, or of absolute 
science, does not exist. By many, indeed, all 
ontology, as a positive science, is regarded as 
impossible.! Perhaps all such inquiries, at least 
in their higher relations, transcend the unaided 
powers of the human mind. The relation of 



* This was the sentiment of all the ancient philosophers. Their 
feeling is well expressed by Horace, who says, " Odi profanum 
vulgus, et arceo." The idea of teaching the common people, as 
such, rarely, if ever, occurred to their minds. 

f Among them Sir William Hamilton, the first philosophical 
critic of the age. See Morell's History of the Philosophy of the 
Nineteenth Century, p. 656. Compare Discussions, &c, by Sir W. 
Hamilton, p. 31, et seq. (Eng. ed.) 



94 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

matter to thought, or of thought to matter, the 
origin and duration of matter, the origin and 
duration of mind, the relation of the finite to 
the infinite, the possible production of the finite 
from the infinite, or of matter from thought, the 
creation of the world, and the creation of man 
— these and kindred topics were debated con- 
stantly by the Grecian thinkers, without any one 
reaching a solution which satisfied the whole, or 
even any considerable number. With occasion- 
al flashes of light, radiant and immortal, the 
whole seems to most readers an endless logom- 
achy. 

And yet the great idea gleams through the 
whole, that there is a God and a heaven, or what 
Plato would call a spiritual, immortal world, for 
which the good man longs. " Does not the pure 
soul," he asks in the Phcedo, " depart to that 
which resembles itself, the invisible, the divine, 
the wise and immortal ; and on its arrival thither, 
is not its lot to be happy, free from error, igno- 
rance, base passions, and all the other evils to 
which human nature is subject ? " 

In the speculations of great and good men, 
then, as now, we discover error and obscurity ; 
in their spirit and aim, truth and light. 

Socrates, even in his philosophical inquiries, 
was generally practical. He was really more of 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 95 

a moralist than a metaphysician. Plato, how- 
ever, was speculative and transcendent. How 
God should reveal himself, or create the universe, 
is a problem he constantly suggests, but never 
solves. He speaks of the Supreme Being, the 
original absolute Essence or Idea, as inaccessible 
and incomprehensible. He consequently sup- 
poses the existence of another God in the out- 
ward universe, the Alter Ego, so to speak, of 
the Deity, the God manifested and embodied 
in finite forms. Occasionally he seems to pre- 
sent this second or manifested Deity as a mere 
abstraction or ideal, though generally as the soul 
of the universe, embodied in the material whole.* 
His followers, the Neo-Platonists of a latter era, 
retained the distinction, and attempted to give 
it a more definite scientific expression. They 
departed, however, essentially from the views of 
Plato.f 

Indeed, the idea seems to be founded, in some 
sense, in the nature of things, though inadequately 
and even erroneously expressed by Plato, and in- 
volving his speculations in serious difficulty. 
For now, he speaks of this cosmical Deity as if 

* See the Timceus, passim. Compare De Legibus, x. p. 897 
Philebas, p. 30. Idem, pp. 170, 171. 

f For an extended account of the yiews of the Neo-Platonists, on 
the subject of the Trinity, see Cudworth's Intellectual System, ii. 
735-40. Compare Hitter's Ancient Philosophy, yol. iv. pp. 521, 692. 



% CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

he were uncreated and eternal, and thence equal 
to the supreme Intelligence, nay, constituting the 
supreme Intelligence, and then again as a sort 
of created and subaltern God. Still we must 
conceive of the absolute and eternal Essence, as 
manifested in the external universe, and thence 
limited, perhaps humanized. It is thus He dis- 
covers himself to us as a distinct personality. For 
we might well ask, How can the finite ever reach 
and comprehend the Infinite ? And how, more- 
over, can the Infinite, who for this reason is the 
one absolute, unconditioned, and indivisible All, 
create or produce the finite, the conditioned, the 
many? We believe the doctrine of course, nay, 
we know from revelation, perhaps from intuition, 
that the fact so exists ; but in philosophy, the ques- 
tion is Hotv does it exist ? nay, IIoiv can it exist ? 
How, in a word, (for thus the problem must pre- 
sent itself to the reason of a pagan philosopher,) 
how can the absolute and unchangeable Essence, 
who can never be more than he is, never less than 
he is, pass into or produce the external or multi- 
form universe ? 

Plato's solution, if it may be called such, for it 
is only an hypothesis, involved him and his fol- 
lowers, both ancient and modern, in a sort of 
idea] pantheism, which has taken the form some- 
times of a profound spiritualism, though more 
frequently, perhaps, of an arid rationalism. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 97 

We have said " a sort of ideal pantheism," for 
it is only such by implication. His system may 
be described as emanative; for he has first the 
Supreme Reason, the Everlasting God, then the 
Kosmos or Universe, which also is a God, with 
soul and body, produced according to an eternal 
archetype, and in this sense eternal also, though 
in its present form a production of time ; then in- 
ferior gods, who in their turn are also creators, 
and finally the souls and bodies of men.* He be- 
lieves that all things have their opposit.es ; so if 
there be good there must be evil also, and so on, 
m which sense his system perhaps may be styled 
dualistic rather than pantheistic, though springing 
from an absolute unity, in which mind and mat- 
ter, good and evil, are involved, and thus verging, 
as the merest tyro can see, towards an ideal or 
spiritual pantheism. Plato, however, vacillates, 
both as to the origin of the material universe and 
the origin of evil ; for sometimes he seems to de- 
rive evil from matter, while matter itself is rep- 
resented only as the grosser or more exterior form 
of that ethereal substance or essence which forms, 
so to speak, the body of God, or a kind of uni- 
versal and eternal plenum, from which he pro- 
duces all external things. 

Souls or finite spirits also, according to Plato, 

* Plato's Cosmogony is developed chiefly in the Timceics. See 
especially the 8th to the 17th chapters, inclusive. 
Q 



98 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

are not created, but rather projected into formal 
or outward bodily existence, from which finally 
ascending, they will return to the immortal state.* 

Thus the genius of Plato, held in the fetters of 
matter, yet tended to the spiritual and divine ; 
and though his system, logically carried out, may 
be termed ideal, perhaps pantheistic, it certainly 
possessed this redeeming feature. His own lofty 
spirit longed for the perfect, the beautiful, and 
good, in their absolute and eternal archetypes. 
God and immortality were the starting point, and 
the goal of his reasoning and his life. Yet the 
unsettled question ever recurs, How does God 
come to us ? How do we come to God ? He is 
ours, and we are his — but hoiv ? 

To relieve his theory of its main difficulty, 
Plato, as we have stated, in addition to the one 
inaccessible and universal Reason, who forms the 
root of all existence, supposed a God of this 
world, a sort of divine Logos, as he is named, a 
term given by St, John to Jesus Christ himself, as 
the Word, or manifestation of the invisible Fa- 
ther. But Plato's god of the world, or external 
universe, is a derived and limited deity, and can- 
not therefore be made to cohere with any just 
ideas of the divine Unity. 

This deity, however, in the Platonic philosophy, 

* Phcedo y 128. Compare Phcedrus, 51, 56, 61. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 99 

is simply the embodied soul of the universe, rep- 
resented as a living creature. Plato's reasoning 
upon this subject is curious. The world has 
warmth, is composed of various elements, has 
motion like a human body, &c, therefore it must 
have a soul. " As soon as the Creator saw that 
this created image of the eternal gods or ideas 
began to move, he looked upon his work and 
was glad." Timceus, xiv. Had Plato seen the 
Bible? In the Phcedrus, 55, he uses this re- 
markable language : " But the immortal derives 
its name from no deduction of reasoning; but 
as we neither see nor sufficiently understand 
God, we represent him as an immortal animal, 
possessed of soul as well as body, and these 
united together through all time." Here the 
idea is slightly different from that in the Timceus, 
which closes thus : u We are now at length to 
say, that our discourse concerning the universe 
has reached its conclusion; for, not only con- 
taining, but full of mortal and immortal ani- 
mals, it has thus been formed, a visible animal 
embracing things visible — a sensible god of 
the intelligible, the greatest, the best, and most 
perfect — this one only begotten universe" 

Plato's universe is thus a created god, a god 
whom he worshipped, for he begins the Critias 
with imploring, "that God, (the universe,) long. 



100 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

long 1 ago created in fact, to confirm " the truth 
of his recent discussion, &c. 

On the same ground, and springing from the 
same speculative difficulty, he cannot solve the 
question of the soul's immortality. He thor- 
oughly believes it, and in the Phcedo, devoted to 
this particular discussion, he presents many in- 
genious arguments in its favor, though none of 
them can be regarded as demonstrative. He is 
compelled, by the necessities of his argument, 
to confound it with the doctrine of the metemp- 
sychosis, or transmigration of souls.* Its pre- 
existence he endeavors to prove by the doctrine 
or fact of reminiscence, an idea hinted at in 
Wordsworth's beautiful ode entitled " Intima- 
tions of Immortality from Recollections of Early 
Childhood." 

" Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; 
The soul that rises with us, our life's star, 
Hath had elsewhere its setting. 
And cometh from afar ; 
Not in entire forgetfulness, 
And not in utter nakedness, 
But trailing clouds of glory, do we come 
From God, who is our home." 

Taken in some large poetic sense, all this is 
doubtless true ; for we do come from God as the 

* Phcedo, 47-49 ; Phcedrus, 61, 62. See also Timaus, clxxii. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 101 

fountain of our being; but evidently we are 
creatures of time, so far at least as the past is 
concerned. Our souls, grand and capacious as 
they may become, have yet their specific, individ- 
ual beginning or creation ; and all back of this, 
in 

" That immortal sea 
Which brought us hither," 

is unknown and ineffable. 

Plato, however, is not satisfied to deduce the 
immortality of the soul from its capacities and 
possibilities, and especially from those deep and 
beautiful harmonies and aspirations, of which he 
so touchingly speaks ; he must go further ; he 
must solve the problem philosophically ; and 
hence back of all a posteriori considerations, 
back of all the facts of its present human exist- 
ence, he boldly assumes the fact of its eternity ; 
in other words, its absolute existence in God, 
from which its future immortality follows, as 
a natural, eternal necessity. And yet he seems 
to intimate the possibility of the destruction of 
bad souls; one of those singular inconsistencies 
into which the profoundest intellects not un- 
frequently fall.* 

Logically carried out, as every thoughtful 
person must acknowledge, the doctrine of the 

* Phcsdo, 130. 

9* 



102 CHRIST IN IIISTOKr. 

eternity of the soul involves its divinity; in other 
words, its identity with God. And as God, the 
infinite and immutable, cannot consist of parts, 
and thence can neither be divided nor multiplied, 
the identity of the soul with God would prove it 
God, and so pantheism would be the necessary 
logical result.* 

The subject of the origin and duration of 
matter, to which Plato frequently refers, is left, 
as one might naturally suppose, in inextricable 
confusion. As a substantial, external thing, with 
its attributes of extension, divisibility, form, color, 
and so forth, he seems to regard it as simply 
phenomenal ; and yet its basis, which he denom- 
inates Hyle, a sort of ethereal essence, contem- 
poraneous with God, is regarded not simply as 
eternal, but occasionally as the seat of sin ; so 
that on this ground he cannot successfully solve 
the problem of human redemption, to us the 
most immediate and thrilling of all problems. 
He sees and laments the strange " necessity " 
(dvdyxrj) which gives rise to sin and misery, that 
apparent duality and contradiction in the nature 
of things, and especially in the nature of man, 
which the Bible refers to the fall of the race from 
its primitive integrity ; but his chief remedy is 



* It was on this ground that Lessing, a Spinozist, held the doc- 
trine of the preexistence of souls. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 103 

the renunciation of the outward and bodily, the 
contemplation of archetypal ideas, and a return, 
if possible, to the original and eternal essence. 4 * 
These things, we know, are echoes of the truth, 
as it were imperfect glimpses of the reality ; but 
much was wanting which ancient philosophy 
never supplied. Indeed, neither Plato nor any 
of the old speculative thinkers apprehended fully 
the nature of sin, as the voluntary lapse and 
transgression of the soul. They seemed to 
regard it as a natural and inevitable evil, for 
which there was no adequate cure, except in a 
return to absolute spiritual existence.! The idea 
of redemption, by a divine transformation, or re- 
generation of the soul, in its present limited and 
imperfect state, never dawned upon their minds. 
Plato evidently struggles with the dread neces- 
sity, and longs for emancipation in the bosom 
of the Infinite, but gives no distinct information 
as to the method of its attainment. True, he 
dwells upon the necessity of goodness, as the soul's 
eternal life. He speaks eloquently of virtue, as 

[ieyl<TTrjP xat xalXlarrjv tcop uvfKfxuviibi'^ " the deepest 

and most beautiful of all harmonies," and 
vaguely hints at the means of reunion with 

* Repub. 1. vii. 1, 2. 

f In the Timaus, (lxix.,) he says expressly that the soul is " ren- 
dered morbid and unwise by the body," and that "no one is volun- 
tarily bad." 



104 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

God ; but perplexed with the fatal proclivity to 
evil, in the very constitution of the external 
world, and the physical nature of man, he fails 
to answer those two great questions which are 
ever pressing the race, How shall man be just with 
God? How shall man become sinless and happy? 

Plato sees clearly enough that nature is a 
manifestation of God ; but he perverts, or alto- 
gether loses sight of the divine personality. His 
only personal deity is the actual universe, as a 
living creature, with its inner spirit and its ex- 
ternal form, or, as he terms it. its body and soul. 
Thus he degrades the idea of the divine person- 
ality, making it commensurate, both in scope 
and duration, with the created universe. Leaving 
this, however, he naturally passes into the idea 
of the infinite and absolute nature of God, and 
here actually loses, as he must, all conception 
of personality. His notions become abstract 
and misty ; so that his eternal Essence, or God, 
is found to be little more than an abstract idea 
or power, absolute and inaccessible, whom no 
man can know or love.* 

The fact is, the great truth of the personality 
of God, and the possibility of union and fellow- 
ship with him, as a distinct intelligence, and 

* See upon this point Hitter's Hist. An. Ph. yoI. ii. p. 287. Com- 
pare pp. 272, 273. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 105 

especially as a Father and Friend, wanted, for 
its full expression and confirmation, an actual 
incarnation in some perfect, tangible form. This 
while preserving the fundamental truth of the 
divine unity and supremacy, would bring home 
to the intellect and the heart the idea of a per- 
sonal God, distinct from the universe, with whom 
we might enter into relations of fellowship and 
love. 

Yet Plato, as we see, clung to the fact of a 
divine manifestation, while incapable of realizing 
it in scientific form. It constituted, indeed, a 
pervading element of his system^ and entered 
into all subsequent speculations conceived in his 
spirit. Nay, whenever, in the history of the past, 
any approximation was made, either in philos- 
ophy or religion, to the great truth of a First 
Cause, the necessities of human nature .uniformly 
removed this primal deity beyond the sphere, not 
only of the senses, but of the mere finite intellect. 
The truth was held, by a superior sense or 
faculty, as a great and unutterable reality ; and 
intercourse with such a being, either on his side 
or on man's, was supposed possible only through 
some kind of intermediate power. For the same 
reason, the outward creation and government of 
the universe were always ascribed, as among the 
Oriental theosophers, to some emanating Essence 
or Deity, or, as among the Platonists, to the di- 



106 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

vine Logos, the Wisdom or Reason of the great 
Supreme, in the form, not only of an abstraction, 
but of a personality. That is to say, a personal 
God, the only conceivable God, to them ever was 
but an image, reproduction, or manifestation of 
the one absolute and eternal Being. 

This was the doctrine, in some form or other, 
of all the old religions, of all the Indian and Egyp- 
tian philosophies and mythologies, of Magianism 
and of Platonism, though often appearing in a 
most imperfect, and even degrading form. This 
too was the doctrine of the Hebrew sages,* Nu- 
merous passages might be cited from Philo Ju- 
daeus, born at Alexandria, in Egypt, only a few 
months before our Savior, and par excellence the 
philosopher of the Hebrews, on the impossibility 
that the self-existent Deity should become cogni- 
zable to the intellect or senses of man, and con- 
sequently that there must intervene between him 
and us some divine mediation, some eternal Lo- 
gos, Reason, or Word. Sometimes he speaks of 
this intermediate divinity as the image, or still 
more adequately as the shadow of God.f Nay, 
he goes further, and maintains that as God is the 

* For example, the Targumists, the earliest Jewish commenta- 
tors on the Scriptures. Lightfoot, Schoetgen, and others have col- 
lected numerous passages in which the Messiah is represented undei 
this idea. See some admirable remarks upon this point in the intro- 
duction to Tholuck's Commentary on John. 

f Leg. Alley, ii. The term here used is xapadeiyfia rtjs zUovoq. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 107 

prototype of the Word, so again the Word is the 
archetype of other things, and of man among the 
rest. It is on this ground that he describes the 
Deity as a light, which not only illuminates him- 
self, but also emits ten thousand rays, which form 
the supra-sensible world of his energies, the ple- 
roma or " fulness of him that filleth all in all." * 
So that the Messiah, or Word, would be, as the 
Athanasian creed expresses it, God of God and 
Light of Light, or, as St. Paul, more beautifully, 
" the effulgence of the Father's glory, and the ex- 
press image of his nature." 

Philo does not carry out the idea quite con- 
sistently, neither does he conform, in all respects, 
either to the Platonic or the Hebrew conception.! 
He mingles with it some conceits and refine- 
ments which it is difficult to understand, and 
proposes to reunite man to the Deity by means of 
mental abstraction and theosophic mysticism. :j: It 
is impossible also to say whether he derived his 
ideas chiefly from Plato and the Oriental theos- 
ophers, or from the ancient Scriptures. His meth- 
od of interpreting the divine Oracles is allegorical. 
The literal and even natural sense he often re- 
jects, or modifies at pleasure ; and endeavors, like 
Origen and Swedenborg, to find the real import 

* De Cherub, xxviii. 156. 

f He rarely, if ever, gives the idea of a personal Messiah. 

t Leg. Alleg. iii. 9, p. 93. 



108 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

beneath external words, facts, or appearances. His 
style is Grecian and Platonic ; his ideas are Ori- 
ental and mystical, though frequently beautiful 
and affecting. He pours contempt upon outward 
things, the sciences, and even political affairs, and 
dwells with infinite complacency on the excel- 
lence and happiness of a contemplative life.* He 
praises especially the Therapeutae, or the Jewish 
anchorites of Egypt, who despised society, mor- 
tified the body, and endeavored, by strange cere- 
monies and mystic contemplation, to reunite 
themselves to the Deity.f 

These notions exerted a great influence upon 
the Jews of Egypt, who had multiplied there 
exceedingly during the reign of the Ptolemies, 
so as to amount to something more than a mil- 
lion of souls. In subsequent times they min- 
gled, to some extent, with Christian ideas, and 
originated, probably, the monastic life of the 
early Christian devotees, so numerous in that 
country. 

But the belief of Plato and Philo in regard to 
the Logos was cherished in a somewhat different 
form, perhaps, by the Jewish people, especially by 
their more thoughtful, religious teachers. He was 

* See De Vita Contemplativa. 

f De Migra. Abrahah. 2, 3, 10, 11, compared with. De Vita Co?i- 
templativa. In other places, however, Philo rebukes the extreme 
asceticism and extravagant usages of the Theraputae. See Pro- 
fugis, 7. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 109 

called, as in the Old Testament Scriptures, the 
Messiah, or Anointed One, the Shiloh, or Peace- 
maker, the Divine Presence, or the Angel of His 
Presence, who led them through the wilderness, 
the Metatron or Mediator, though most frequently 
the Memra or Word, for as a word is an outgoing 
or utterance of mind, an embodiment or mani- 
festation of spirit, so they regarded the Messiah, 
for whose incarnation in the fulness of the times 
they constantly longed, as the embodiment or 
manifestation of Jehovah — as it were God per- 
sonified, that is, revealed, in such limited but ap- 
propriate form as mortals might understand. 

And it is a curious fact, which we may state in 
this connection, that this very appellation, Word 
or Reason, is found not only in the Hebrew, but 
in the Indian, the Persian, the Chinese, and Egyp- 
tian philosophies and religions. In the Indian 
mythology, Vach, signifying speech, is the active 
power of Brahma. In the Egyptian hieroglyph- 
ics, Amun is " the hidden God," while Phtha, the 
god of light, or fire, by whom he produces the 
world, (as in the Rosetta stone,) is " the Appar- 
ent " or Manifested God. Hence the sovereigns 
of Egypt are styled " the beloved of Phtha." In 
the Persian religion, Ormuzd, the good, creates 
the universe by Honover, the Word.* Laj-tsue^ 

* Ormuzd is himself a manifestation of Zeruane Akhereue, or 
absolute Being. 

10 # 



110 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

one of the Chinese sages, teaches the creation of 
the world by " the Primordial Reason" * 

The same term may also be traced in some of 
the most ancient poets — a tradition doubtless of 
some primeval revelation, if not an intuitive con- 
viction of the human mind. Passages of this 
kind are cited by Justin Martyr, Clement of 
Alexandria, and others, and though liable to 
some suspicion on the score of genuineness, are 
not to be utterly rejected. We do not indeed 
urge them here as conclusive proof, for they re- 
quire to be sifted by a thorough and candid criti- 
cism. It is enough to say, that Philo-Judseus, 
as also the early Christian fathers, uniformly, and 
with considerable plausibility, maintain, that amid 
many errors of view, the ancient writers, poets, 
and philosophers derived the knowledge of one 
eternal God, and one eternal Word or Reason, 
by whom the worlds were created, from the 
sacred Scriptures, or from some original revela- 
tion, and thence, though bewildered by supersti- 
tion, bore testimony to the fundamental prin- 
ciples of religion.f The light shone upon them 
as through broken clouds, often lost out of 



* " La raison a produit un, un a produit deux, deux a produit 
trois, trois a produit toutes choses." — Memoire sur la Vie et let 
Outrages de Lao-tsue, par M. Abel Remusat. 

f See Justin's Cohortatio ad Grcecos, 15. (Otto's ed.) vol. i. 
p. 53. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. Ill 

sight, but anon reappearing amid the drifting 
shadows. 

" Hence," says Clement, " if the truth be but 
one, however numerous the modes of error, we 
may suppose the different schools of philosophy, 
barbarian as well as Greek, seizing on it as the 
Bacchantes seized on Pentheus, and having torn 
it to pieces, each bearing off a part, and then 
boasting itself of possessing the whole. Yet I 
think the dawn of that light in the east illumi- 
nated them all ; for it may be proved that all who 
sincerely sought after the truth, whether Greeks 
or barbarians, did in fact carry off, in some cases, 
not a little of the truth which they sought, the 
fragments of which being collected and reunited, 
the perfect Logos (Reason) or truth is then fully 
seen and known ; for he who can with propriety 
be called a Christian philosopher must be im- 
bued with all knowledge." * 

Plutarch, one of the best of the ancient think- 
ers and moralists, at a later day than Orpheus 
and Plato, in his treatise on the Osiris, or Sun- 
god of Egypt, the symbol, as he deems it, of an 
eternal Sun, has a similar conception. While 
recognizing the superior and universal Reason 
or Mind as the fountain of all existence, he 
speaks of him as inaccessible and incomprehen- 

* Stromata, lib. i. c. 13. 



112 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Bible, except through some external manifesta- 
tion, like that of the embodied Logos.* 

Doubtless all the symbols and deities of the 
ancient pagan sages and religionists were false, 
or at least inadequate ; nay, many of them bestial 
and bewildering, the fruit of superstition and 
fancy. Perhaps none of them ever rose to the 
true conception of the Divine Logos, or Reason, 
and all were liable to lose sight of the spiritual 
and divine in the carnal and terrene. Yet they 
felt the need, as many now feel the need, of some 
special manifestation of the Deity, over and 
above that of nature, which might meet the 
wants of man, and which, while bringing down 
the Infinite to the level of the soul, might at the 
same time lift the soul to the level of the Infinite. 

And what can all this be but the general ac- 
quiescence of the human mind in the necessity 
of some Divine Mediator, some celestial Mes- 
siah, or Son of God, who should reunite the 
extremes of heaven and earth, of man and God, 
and so bring the Deity, the great Father of us 
all, within the sphere and compass of human 
thought and affection ? f 

But philosophy, both ancient and modern, has 
only hovered around the problem, never solved 

* Kilter's Ancient Ph. vol. iv. p. 497. 

f A striking passage as to the necessity of a mediator, even on 
natural grounds, may be seen in Bacon's Works, ii. p. 407. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 113 

it, and nothing can equal the bewilderment of 
the heathen mind in regard to this and kindred 
questions.* The difficulty, so far from being 
diminished, was only deepened by time. Where 
it did not find its issue in a sort of philosophic 
stoicism, or in absolute scepticism, as it often 
did, it became an agony of desire, which could 
be satisfied only with the divine reality. 

The supposed case of Clemens, a noble Ro- 
man, will illustrate what we mean, and show 
how philosophy, with its high imaginings and 
strange perplexities, was a means of preparing 
the soul for Christ. In the commencement of 
his book, entitled Recognitiones, he gives a most 
interesting account of his mental struggles, and 
subsequent conversion to Christianity, begin- 
ning, "Ego Clemens in urbe Roma nata," etc. 
A considerable portion of his narrative may be 
found in Neander's Church History, vol. i. pp. 
32, 33, admirably translated by Professor Tor- 



* The same bewilderment is visible among the philosophers of 
modern Europe. The whole problem of the German and French 
Ontology, developed in the writings of Leibnitz, Kant, Fichte, 
Hegel, Scheiling, and Cousin, is the relation of subject and object, 
and, at a higher point, of X\ie finite and the infinite. With them the 
absolute Essence ever images or reproduces himself in the finite ; so 
that they are compelled to believe in a certain Trinity. The idea is 
brought out very strikingly by Scheiling and Cousin. See Schelling's 
Philosophie und Religion, pp. 23-30. Cousin's Histoire de la Philos. 
Intro., p. 95. 

10* 



114 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

rev. * All we can give here is a condensed ab- 
stract. From his yc-uth he was haunted with 
the questions, which had entered his soul, he 
hardly knew how, " Will my existence termi- 
nate with death ? What will be my fate then ? 
Will it be as if I had never been born ? When 
and how was the world created? What existed 
before it ? Will it end, and if so, what will then 
take place ? " Incessantly agitated by such ques- 
tionings and doubts, he grew pale and emaciated, 
little aware, as he tells us, that he had a celestial 
friend guiding him to truth and peace. He tried 
to rid himself of his anxiety, but found it im- 
possible. He attended the schools of philosophy, 
but without satisfaction. He saw nothing but 
endless and ever-varying notions, "building up 
and tearing down of theories." He was driven to 
and fro, now hoping and then despairing, now 
believing, and anon doubting the immortality 
of the soul. His case grew worse. He then 
resolved to visit Egypt, the land of mysteries and 
apparitions, and hunt up a magician who might 
summon for him a spirit from the other w^orld. 
The appearance of such a spirit would give him 
demonstrative evidence of the soul's immortality; 

* The genuineness of the Recognitiones is called in question by 
scholars ; but the case will serve for an illustration of what might 
take place, and of what, indeed, has actually taken place in other 
cases. 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 115 

and he should never again be permitted to doubt. 
But a philosophic friend advised him against 
this course, as unlawful and undesirable. In 
this state of mind, full of doubts, undecided, in- 
quiring, agitated and distressed, he came in con- 
tact with the gospel of Christ, preached in demon- 
stration of the Spirit. His doubts were dispelled, 
his mind was enlightened, his heart was renewed, 
He found God and immortality in Christ, and 
rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

Very similar to this was the conversion of 
Justin Martyr, who though born in Flavia Neap- 
olis, was educated in the religious belief of the 
Greeks, to which his parents belonged. He was 
fond of study, and especially attached to the 
Greek poets and philosophers. In the beginning 
of his dialogue with Trypho, the Jew, he de- 
scribes his hopes and disappointments in the study 
of the Greek philosophy, and shows how he ob- 
tained certainty and truth only in the Christian 
religion. He first joined himself to a disciple of 
the Stoa, but soon left him with bitter disap- 
pointment, because his teacher could say little or 
nothing of that Deity, whose nature he so much 
longed to know. With a Peripatetic he had still 
less success, for he found under the cloak of the 
philosopher a sordid love of gain. This, however, 
did not abate his confidence in philosophy, and 
so he betook himself to a Pythagorean, who rang 



116 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

changes upon the glories of music, geometry, and 
astronomy, as essential to all elevated spiaflkal 
attainments, and finally excluded Justin from his 
teachings, because he professed ignorance upon 
these subjects. Justin almost despaired of attain- 
ing the truth in this way, when he learned that a 
noted Platonist had opened a school in the place 
where he was sojourning, with whom he resolved 
to make one more attempt to attain the object of 
his wishes. Here he was not altogether disap- 
pointed, for the conversations of the philosopher 
furnished his mind with the richest materials of 
thought. He was much impressed with the sym- 
metry and grandeur of the Platonic system, and 
especially with its ideal and spiritual tone. His 
philosophic knowledge increased daily, and he 
thought himself on the verge of consummating 
his Platonic attainments, by the direct intuition 
of the Deity. 

In this state of mind, he was wandering, one 
day, in a lonely spot by the sea shore, where he 
was unexpectedly joined by a venerable man, of 
gentle and imposing aspect, supposed by some to 
have been a philosophically educated Jewish 
Christian, by others the Bishop Polycarp. This 
good man informed him, that he had come down 
to the beach to wait for some absent relatives, 
whose return he was anxiously expecting. Justin 
could not resist the temptation of communicating 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 117 

his thoughts to the venerable man, informing him 
that he had repaired to that spot for philosophical 
speculation. " You are a lover, then, of discourse, 
((inUyog^ but no lover of deeds, (GdegyogJ nor by 
any means a lover of truth ; for you do not try to 
be a practical man, but rather an ingenious dis- 
putant." To this Justin demurred, affirming that 
nothing could be more worthy of a man than to 
make it manifest that all things were governed 
by intelligence, and to detect the undivine and 
the erroneous in all other pursuits ; that philosophy 
was the true source of wisdom, and ought to re- 
ceive the homage of all. 

The aged man inquired how philosophy led to 
happiness, and what was its proper definition. 
Being told that it was " the science of being, and 
the knowledge of the truth, happiness being the 
reward of this knowledge and wisdom," he showed 
that philosophy, when it depended upon its un- 
aided resources, could never solve the problem. 
Because the knowledge of God, the highest object 
of all, and especially of Platonic speculation, could 
never be acquired by an empirical or formal 
method, or by discursive contemplation, like mu- 
sic, arithmetic, or astronomy. He proved that 
God himself must teach us, through some divine 
medium, to which philosophy could make no pre- 
tensions. Reason, indeed, might ascertain the 
truth of the divine existence, and of moral princi- 



118 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

pies; but could not behold the essence of God. 
Besides, according to a postulate of the Platonic 
philosophy itself, only the pure and righteous can 
attain to the actual vision of God ; so that the 
reason or intellect plays but a subordinate part. 
" The pure in heart shall see God." 

He then dwelt upon the errors of the Platonic 
philosophy, especially with reference to the doc- 
trine of the metempsychosis and the immortality 
of the soul ; since the former w T as absolutely 
useless, teaching that while wicked men passed 
into the bodies of brutes, they had no con- 
sciousness of their former aberrations, nor any 
sense of their present degradation. As to the 
immortality of the soul, he showed that it was 
founded by the Platonics, on the assumption of 
its absolute and eternal nature, and involved not 
simply its future but its past eternal existence. 
The soul, indeed, created in the image of God, 
is capable of immortality, and is thus suscepti- 
ble of future reward or punishment. Hence it 
endures, in order to realize the idea of retribu- 
tion, not only from its own nature, but through 
the will and power of him who gave it exist- 
ence. 

Justin was profoundly impressed by the wis- 
dom and eloquence of the venerable man. He 
began to lose confidence in his philosophical 
speculations. " What, then, shall we do ? " was 



ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY. 119 

his exclamation ; M on what teacher can we rely, 
and from what quarter derive infallible truth ? " 
He was directed to the prophets, " organs of the 
Divine Spirit," and especially to " Christ, the 
way, the truth, and the life." The old man then 
left him, and he saw him no more. Eagerly he 
sought the Scriptures, and the instructions of 
those known as the friends of Christ. And 
there he found what he sought — truth and rest, 
God and immortality.* 

It may be concluded, then, that ancient phi- 
losophy was a longing and a preparation for 
Christ. " For it appears to me," said Simmias, 
in Phsedo, addressing himself to Socrates, who 
concedes the correctness of the statement, " that 
to know them (the truths pertaining to the soul 
and its destiny) clearly in the present life, is 
either impossible or very difficult : on the other 
hand, not to test what has been said of them in 
every possible way, to investigate the whole 
matter, and exhaust upon it every effort, is the 
part of a very weak man. For we ought, in 
respect to these things, either to learn from oth- 
ers how they stand, or to discover them for our- 
selves ; or if both these are impossible, then 
taking the best of human reasonings, that which 



* For a more extended account of Justin's conversion, see Sem- 
isch's Life, Writings, and Opinions of Justin Martyr, yol. i. pp. 8-18. 



120 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

appears the best supported, and embarking on 
that, as one who risks himself upon a raft, so to 
sail through life ; unless one could be carried 
more safely, or with less risk, on a surer convey- 
ance, or some divine (Logos) Reason," * 

Hence, also, in the Second Alcibiades, we 
have the still more remarkable declaration, " That 
we must wait patiently until some one, either a 
god, or some inspired man, teach us our moral 
and religious duties, and, as Pallas in Homer 
did to Diomed, remove the darkness from our 
eyes." f 

* Plato's Phcedo, 78. f Alcib. ii. 150. 



CHAPTEE V. 

THE CENTRA!, RACE, OR CHRIST AMONG THE 
HEBREWS. 

As in society at large we find a central power, 
in religion a central principle, and in philosophy 
a central idea, it may be presumed, that in the 
succession of human affairs, we shall find, among 
the nations, in a more or less perfect form, a cen- 
tral or a chosen people, whether named church, 
theocracy, or kingdom of God. We may expect 
not only a succession of divine facts, maintain- 
ing religion in the world, but a succession of 
individuals, families, and communities, perhaps 
some one community differing from all the rest 
in gifts, attainments, and usages, fitted to retain 
and transmit to all generations, and finally to 
the whole world, the principles and hopes of a 
perfect religion. Other nations may not, on this 
account, be proscribed, except for their vices. 
Much of their ignorance and superstition maybe 
" winked at," or overlooked, at least for a season. 
In none of them will God leave himself without 
a witness for the truth ; but the state of the 
world may be such as to demand a chosen peo- 
11 (i2i) 



122 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

pie, a religious or prophetic race, who shall stand 
at the centre of history, and form a vehicle or 
medium for the transmission of the truth to all 
ages, and its diffusion among the nations. 

This would be analogous to the divine pro- 
cedure in other cases ; for in all times we find 
central communities, in the matters of science, 
literature, refinement, arts, legislation, arms. So 
also we find central families, and central individ- 
uals, great lights in the world, whose mission 
and ministry have been a blessing to all. In- 
significant, sometimes, in position, personal at- 
tractions, and other gifts of an external kind, 
often, too, great sufferers, and not always realiz- 
ing for themselves the good of which they are 
the chosen depositaries, they have conveyed to 
others, sometimes during their lives, but oftener 
afterwards, vast and permanent benefits. Thus 
good of all sorts is ever found radiating from 
specific centres. In former times Greece was 
the central nation of philosophy and art ; Rome 
of political power and civil law. From Plato 
sprang the speculative spirit ; from Homer that 
of poetry and song. 

If, then, we find in the Hebrew people the cen- 
tre of a pure religion for ages, it will not be a mat- 
ter of surprise; for if we study them thoroughly, 
we shall find that, in early times at least, they 
had the qualifications necessary for this purpose. 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 123 

Or if this be denied them, as an original gift of 
nature, it will be allowed that they were dis- 
ciplined for this end, and so successfully, that 
they actually succeeded in maintaining a pure 
and lofty Theism, and transmitting it to modern 
times. 

But let us go back a little, and see how this 
thing was provided for in the very dawn of so- 
ciety. 

Those who have studied human nature, and 
the history of the race, with the greatest atten- 
tion, will not need to be told that it must have 
suffered some terrible lapse. Under the suppo- 
sition the most natural that can be formed, that 
man was created innocent and happy, with a 
pure faith and a gentle discipline, it is clear that 
he has since departed from God. " The gold 
has become dim, the most fine gold is changed. 5 ' 
The first Eden, the peaceful reign of purity and 
love, did not long continue. The knowledge of 
the true God, as we have seen, was speedily tar- 
nished, and finally all but lost in universal idola- 
try. The ancient historical nations, with one, 
perhaps two exceptions, were idolaters* Evil 
clung to the race. 



* We have said perhaps two, the reference being to the Jews and 
the Persians. The latter, however, were nature or symbol- worship- 
pers, adorers of the sun and fire ; in this respect, therefore, to be 
classed with the Peruvians. 



12 4 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

All the ancient philosophers, as well as prophets, 
felt this. Plato, who may be regarded as repre- 
senting the whole Oriental and Occidental worlds, 
speaks of it in various forms, now as an ignorance, 
then as a discord, then as a constitutional neces- 
sity, and sometimes as a fatal, eternal duality, 
which he cannot understand. Some ascribed it 
to matter. This was the notion of most of the 
Oriental mystics, who thence mortified the body, 
and longed for absorption in the divine. The 
same view is taken by Proclus and most of the 
Platonic philosophers. 

It is evident, however, that they often felt it 
to be a moral perversion, which had come upon 
man, and which ought to be remedied. Nearly 
all the mythologies recognize it as a fall ; and 
some of the philosophers describe it much as 
the Bible describes it, as a fatal departure from 
God. One of the most striking things in all 
the works of Plato is that wherein he repre- 
sents the soul under the image of Glaucus, who, 
having bathed in some fountain of life, had be- 
come immortal ; but losing the secret, could not 
point out the fountain to others, and so threw 
himself into the sea, to be swept around all 
shores, by the violence of the waves. " We are 
now telling the truth," says Plato, " concerning 
it, [the soul,] such as it appears at present. In- 
deed, we see it in the same condition in which 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 125 

they see the marine Glaucus, in whom they can- 
not discern his ancient nature ; because the 
original members of his body are partly broken 
off, while others are worn away, and altogether 
he is damaged by the waves. Besides this, other 
things are grown to him, such as shell fish, sea- 
weed, and stones ; so that in every respect he 
resembles a beast, rather than what he naturally 
was. In such a condition do we behold the soul 
under a thousand evils." * He adds that it ought 
to be restored to its original condition ; but alas! 
Plato himself seems to despair of this, with refer- 
ence to the mass of mankind wholly sunk in igno- 
rance, superstition, and vice. How striking an evi- 
dence of the fact, too well known, and too well au- 
thenticated by all history, sacred and profane, 
that, at a very early period of the world's career, 
" all flesh had corrupted its ways ! " f 

God, then, must provide for his own. Hence 
he selected individuals and families to be recipi- 
ents of his truth, and its teachers to mankind. 
There were those, in the antediluvian ages, who 
were styled " his sons," and who preserved, from 

* Republica, c. xi. 

f Even Theodore Parker says, " In the higher stages of polythe- 
ism man is regarded as fallen. He felt his alienation from his 
Father. Religion looks back longingly to the golden age, when 
God dwelt familiar with men. It seeks to restore the links broken 
out of the golden chain." — Discourse of Religion, p. 79. See Ap- 
pendix B. 

n* 



126 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

generation to generation, the great principles of 
religion. A Redeemer was promised; a sacrifice 
of reconciliation was provided. Penitence and 
prayer were found available, through the mercy 
of God, for the redemption of the soul. Devout 
men called upon the name of the Lord, and 
worshipped at his altars. Enoch, the seventh 
from Adam, is peculiarly distinguished as a 
prophet and teacher. Subsequent to this we 
find Noah a worshipper of the true God, and a 
preacher of righteousness. Saved from the 
flood, he became the father of a new 7 race, the 
type of a new redemption. For, the rescue 
from water, in ancient times, might have been 
regarded as a symbol of a higher deliverance 
from sin. The bow which spanned the heavens 
was a pledge of hope to the world. Whatever 
view may be taken of this event, such is its 
moral import and design, and hence its profound 
impression, not only upon single families, but 
upon all the ancient nations. Preserved, in its 
most perfect form, among patriarchal and He- 
brew traditions, we meet with it in nearly all 
the mythologies of the more ancient nations. 
One of the most striking of these is the Chaldean 
legend, as given by Berosus, among the frag- 
ments of his history, preserved by Josephus, 
Eusebius, and others.* He gives first the mytho- 

* Berosus, we are aware, is poor authority with many, in matters 
strictly historical. Even in this department, however, he has been 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 127 

logical period of Babylonian history, consisting 
of ten kings who reigned before the flood ; the 
first of whom, Alorus, corresponds with Adam, 
the last, Xesuthrus, corresponds with Noah. 
With Xesuthrus commences the second or real 
historical period. Of this Xesuthrus Berosus 
gives the following legend: Chronus appeared 
to him in a dream, and warning him that man- 
kind should be destroyed by a flood, commanded 
him to build a ship, into which, having previous- 
ly stocked it with provisions, and introduced 
into it a certain number of fowls and four-footed 
beasts, he, with his friends and nearest relatives, 
as also a band of pious men, should enter. 
Xesuthrus did as he was ordered. He built a 
huge ship, the dimensions of which are given, 
stocked in the manner described, in which he 
himself embarked with his family and pious as- 
sociates. By and by the flood came ; and when 
it began to abate, he let fly some birds, which 
soon returned to the ship. After a few days he 
sent them out again, and they came back with 
their feet darkened with mud ; but when for a 
third time he dismissed them, none of them ever 
returned. The ark floated towards the moun- 
tains of Armenia, and when the waters had 

too much undervalued. Niebuhr's estimate may be seen, Lectures 
on Ancient Hist. vol. i. p. 48. In matters purely traditional, of 
course, all will admit his validity. 



12S CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

subsided, the just men there disembarked and 
returi ed to Babylonia.* 

A similar tradition is found in the religious 
annals of India. It is related in the Padina 
Puran that Satyarota, whose miraculous preser- 
vation from a general deluge is told at length in 
the Mataja, had three sons, the eldest of whom 
was called Jyapeti, to whom he gave all the 
regions to the north of the Himalaya, in the 
Snowy Mountains, which extend from sea to sea, 
and of which Caucasus is a part ; to Sharma? 
(corruption for Cham or Ham,) the countries to 
the south of these mountains, &c. f We do 
not present these legends as proofs of the scrip- 
tural account of the deluge, but simply as illus- 
trations of the wide-spread influence which 
might have been exerted by Noah, as a preacher 
of the truth, upon the more ancient nations. £ 

Later we meet with Abraham, styled the 

* For an account of the Babylonian cosmogony and flood, see 
Niebuhr's Lectures on Ancient History, vol. i. pp. 48-51. 

f Asiatic Researches, iii. pp. 312, 313. 

j The tradition of the flood must have spread far beyond the cen- 
tral nations of Asia. We find it even among the legends both of 
the South and of the North American Indians. The Mexicans and 
Peruvians have accounts of its occurrence in singular coincidence 
with the main features of the Mosaic narrative. See Humboldt's 
Researches, ii. 65; Clanigero, Hist. Mexico, i. 204; Thacher's 
Indian Traits, ii. 148, 149 ; Kitto's Bible Illustrations, i. 152, 154, 
where the reader will find some interesting citations on the subject. 
See also Prof. Hitchcock, in the Biblical Repository for 1836 ; Icon' 
ographic Cyclopaedia, art. Mexican Mythology. 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 129 

" father of the faithful," recognized as such both 
by Jews and Arabians, and by some of the 
neighboring nations. He was called from " Ur 
of the Chaldees," into the land of Canaan, that 
as a prince, patriarch, and priest in his family 
and among his dependants, he might found a 
nation of worshippers, who should be numerous 
as the stars of heaven, and a blessing to the world. 
At this period, nature-worship, and perhaps idol- 
atry, was prevalent in Chaldea. The word Z7r, 
Abraham's native place, signifies fire, and is 
supposed to have been one of the seats of Sa- 
baean worship, a sort of Heliopolis, where the 
*' host of heaven " were adored with supersti- 
tious rites. Be this as it may, it is quite evident 
that the family of Terah, Abraham's father, was 
involved in the prevalent superstition, as we 
learn from Joshua xxiv. 2 : " Your fathers dwelt 
on the other side of the flood [the River Euphrates] 
in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, 
and the father of Nachor, and they served other 
gods." It is even asserted by Epiphanius and 
others, that Abraham's father and grandfather 
were makers of idolatrous images ; but we have 
no means of verifying such a statement. Around 
the fact of Abraham's supposed conversion from 
idolatry, and his assertion of a pure theism, have 
gathered many striking Oriental traditionary 
fictions, one of the most beautiful of which is 



130 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the following. " As Abraham was walking by 
night from the grotto where he was born, to the 
city of Babylon, he gazed on the stars of heaven, 
and among them on the beautiful planet Venus. 
'Behold,' said he within himself, 'the God and 
Lord of the universe ! ' But the star set and dis- 
appeared, and Abraham felt that the Lord of the 
universe could not thus be liable to change. 
Shortly after he beheld the moon at the full. 
1 Lo,' he cried, ' the divine Creator, the manifest 
Deity ! ' But the moon sank below the horizon, 
and Abraham made the same reflection as at 
the setting of the evening star. All the rest of 
the night he passed in profound rumination ; at 
sunrise he stood before the gates of Babylon, 
and saw the whole people prostrate in adoration. 
' Wondrous orb, ? he exclaimed, ' thou surely art 
the Creator and Ruler of all nature ! but thou 
too hastest like the rest to thy setting ! neither 
then art thou my Creator, my Lord, or my 
God ! ' " * 

The fact, however, is obvious enough, that 
Abraham and his family were isolated from their 
idolatrous kindred and people, and made the 
vehicle for the transmission of a pure religion to 
their descendants. From him came the hope of 
a Messiah, or divine Deliverer, which formed the 
polar star of the Jewish mind. 

* Milman's Hist, of the Jews, i. p. 9. 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 131 

Thus Abraham commenced a new era in the 
history of mankind, among whom, at the time 
of his birth, idolatry, or nature-worship, so far as 
tradition can teach us, was prevalent, not only 
in Chaldea, his native land, but throughout the 
world. Nations were in process of formation ; 
civilization advanced slowly ; the relations of the 
sexes, the foundation of all permanent national 
prosperity, were uncertain ; slavery was a com- 
mon evil ; multitudes of nomadic tribes, without 
fixed habitations, roamed from place to place ; 
religion, such as it was, gradually assumed a 
more narrow and sensual character, while war 
was conducted with extreme cruelty, prisoners 
being tortured or enslaved, at the caprice of their 
masters. In Egypt, the seat of ancient civiliza- 
tion, idolatry was becoming constantly more and 
more gross, while caste and slavery were stereo- 
typing some of the deepest evils of its social and 
political state.* Hence it was important that, in 
some great centre, a counteracting power should 
be established and perpetuated, from which it 
might gradually diffuse itself among the nations. 
Abraham and his family are chosen as its deposi- 
tary. Thus God enters into covenant relations 
with man. The unity of God, the hope of a 
Messiah, the spirituality of the human soul, and 
the beauty of virtue, are involved in this arrange- 

* See the bas-reliefs in Wilkinson and Rosellini 



132 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

ment. Idolatry is checked. The dawn of a 
brighter day rises upon the world. 

To the same era is referred Melchizedek, 
(Melchi-Zedech, King of justice,) King of Salem, 
which is interpreted " King of peace," who lived, 
according to some, at Jerusalem, but according 
to others, at a place of the same name near 
Scythopolis, where a ruin, called Melchizedek's 
palace, was shown in the time of Jerome. He 
united in his own person the offices of prince and 
priest, was a worshipper, and, of course, a teacher 
of the one eternal God, in whose name he blessed 
Abraham, when returning from the conquest of 
his country's invaders. His priestly descent, as 
well as succession, according to St. Paul, are 
unknown. He stands alone in history, "without 
father or mother, without beginning of [priestly] 
days, or end of life, that is, of official succession, 
a beautiful type of the one great" High Priest 
of our profession, for whose advent all the ancient 
believers longed. 

Whether Job, or the author of the book which 
bears his name, belongs to this era, or to one 
subsequent, is an unsettled question. The book 
itself bears unequivocal marks of a remote an- 
tiquity, and teaches a Theism of the purest char- 
acter.* In this sublime composition, God, as 

* Its reference to the prevalent Sabaeism, or nature-worship, the 
simplicity of its diction, the peculiar social usages which it de- 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 133 

Creator, Judge, and Redeemer, is clothed with 
all the attributes of boundless majesty and per- 
fection. His omnipotence, above all, his infinite 
holiness and mercy, are celebrated in strains of 
the loftiest poetry.* It was much, in that early 



scribes, the name of Job's friends, the absence of all reference to the 
events narrated in the Pentateuch, with other circumstances, have 
compelled the most judicious critics to assign it to an epoch ante- 
rior to the exodus, somewhere about two thousand years before 
Christ. Its authorship has been ascribed to Moses, but this is a 
mere conjecture, to which there are serious objections. Job him- 
self is more likely to have been its author. Even admitting that in 
form and embellishment it is imaginary, its principal events must be 
real occurrences. Job is universally recognized in the Scriptures as a 
real character. See the testimonies in Ezekiel xiv. 14, and James v. 2. 

* The late Daniel Webster, whose vast intellect and exquisite 
taste fitted him to appreciate the sublimities of the old prophetic 
writings, regarded the Book of Job as the first of all epic poems. 
Referring to an interview with him at Marshfield, the editor of the 
Boston Atlas says, " He talked of the books of the Old Testament 
especially, and dwelt with unaffected pleasure upon Isaiah, the 
Psalms, and especially the Book of Job. The Book of Job, he said, 
taken as a mere work of literary genius, was one of the most won- 
derful productions of any age or of any language. As an epic poem, 
he deemed it far superior to either the Iliad or the Odyssey. 

" The two last, he said, received much of their attraction from the 
mere narration of warlike deeds, and from the perilous escapes of 
the chief personages from death and slaughter ; but the Book of 
Job was a purely intellectual narrative Its power was shown in the 
dialogues of the characters introduced. The story was simple in its 
construction, and there was little in it to excite the imagination or 
arouse the sympathy. It was purely an intellectual production, and 
depended upon the power of the dialogue, and not upon the interest 
of the story, to produce its effects. This was considering it merely 
as an intellectual work. He read it through very often, and always 
with renewed delight. In his judgment it was the greatest epic ever 
written. We well remember his quotation of some of the verses in 

12 



134 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

day, to be able to say, "I know that my Re- 
deemer liveth." 

Allowing this book, in the main, to be a real 
history, and not simply a dramatic or epic fiction, 
belonging to a remote epoch, we have, soon 
after the age of Abraham, or a little later, a mag- 
nificent testimony to the fundamental truths of 
religion, and a decisive evidence that groups of 
individuals, here and there, worshipped " the living 
and true God." Thus the Idumean seer, as 
well as Melchizedek and Abraham, belonged to 
that sacred succession, through which flowed 
the stream of pure religion, till the advent of 
the Messiah and the establishment of Chris- 
tianity. 

Abraham, however, is the principal figure 
among the patriarchs and teachers of the pa- 
triarchal age, and has left the impress of his 
character upon much of the Oriental world. To 
him it was announced, by a divine inspiration, 
that from his loins should proceed a wondrous 
race, through whom the one eternal Jehovah 

the 38th chapter : ' Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirl- 
wind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without 
knowledge ? Gird up now thy loins like a man ; for I will demand 
of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the 
foundations of the earth ? Declare, if thou hast understanding,' &c. 
Mr. Webster was a fine reader, and his recitation of particular pas- 
sages, to which he felt warm, was never surpassed, and was capable 
of giving the most exquisite delight to those who could appreciate 
them." 






THE CENTRAL RACE. 135 

should manifest himself to mankind, and bring 
them into a new and peculiar relation with 
himself. The promise was renewed to Isaac, as 
also to Jacob, who, in his dying hour, predicted 
the coming " Shiloh," or Peacemaker, to whom 
"the gathering of the people should be."* 

Thence, as all our readers know, sprang the 
Hebrew nation — first nurtured and disciplined in 
Canaan, as a patriarchal family; then in Egypt, 
as a peculiar people ; then in the wilderness, for 
many years, as a wandering tribe ; then again in 
the land of Canaan, as a settled nation; and, 
finally, in all lands, as a sacred race ; and all 
for the purpose of maintaining and transmitting 
to mankind the knowledge of one true God, one 
almighty Redeemer, and one eternal life. 

This great fact in the history of the Jews, as 
a peculiar or chosen people, is beautifully indi- 
cated in the language of Moses, just before his 
death — "Remember the days of old, consider 
the years of many generations ; ask thy father 
and he will show thee, thy elders and they will 
tell thee. "When the Most High divided to the 
nations their inheritance, when he separated the 
sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people 
according to the number of the children of Israel. 
For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob is the 
l«t ot his inheritance ; he found him in a desert 

* Genesis xlix, 10. 



136 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

land, and in the waste howling wilderness ; he 
led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as 
the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her 
nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad 
her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her 
wings, so the Lord alone did lead him, and 
there was no strange god with him." (Deut. 
xxxii. 8-12.) 

The sacred writers do not disguise the imper- 
fections of their nation ; they dwell, with honest 
indignation, on their frequent apostasies and 
perversities, and describe them as " a stiff- 
necked and rebellious race." The most terrible 
judgments are denounced against them by the 
prophets, on this very ground — judgments liter- 
ally inflicted in subsequent times, as all the 
world knows ; yet the fact of their high and 
special destiny, as the chosen people, through 
whom divine truth was to be communicated to 
the world, is never, for a moment, lost sight of. 
For this purpose they were formed into a theoc- 
racy, or priestly nation, governed by inspired 
laws and sanctions, nay, more, by the immediate 
presence and guidance of Jehovah, symbolized 
in the Shekinah, or luminous appearance called 
the "glory of the Lord," which shone above the 
mercy seat, between the cherubim, first in the 
tabernacle, and then in the temple. 

Well, indeed, they knew, as Solomon in his 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 137 

prayer of dedication acknowledges, that the 
" heaven of heavens " could not contain the in- 
finite Spirit, whom they worshipped as "the 
living God." But they believed in the possi- 
bility of a divine manifestation, such as they 
could understand, the visible outward symbol 
of which was recognized in the supernatural 
splendor, which illumined the " holy of holies." 
In that shrine, too, were offered continually the 
sacrifice and incense prescribed by Jehovah, 
representing, in no ambiguous form, the one 
great sacrifice of atonement, by which the world 
was finally to be reconciled to God. It thus 
became a centre of hope, and " a house of 
prayer," for all pious souls, whether in Palestine 
or other lands, until the true Temple and the 
true Shekinah were realized in the person of 
Jesus Christ. Around it gathered the hopes of 
the entire Hebrew race. To this, even in far 
distant countries, they directed their devotions ; 
fulfilling, in this way, the remarkable words used 
at its dedication — " But will God, indeed, dwell 
on the earth ? Behold, the heaven and the 
heaven of heavens cannot contain thee ; how 
much less this house that I have builded ! Yet 
have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, 
and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to 
hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy 
servant praveth unto thee to-day, that thine 
12* 



138 01IUIST IN HISTORY. 

eyes may be opened towards this house, night 
and day, even towards the place of which thou 
hast said, My name shall be there, that thou 
mayest hearken to the prayer which thy servant 
shall make towards this place. And hearken 
thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of 
thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards 
this place ; and hear thou in heaven, thy dwell- 
ing-place, and, when thou nearest, forgive." 
(1 Kings viii. 27-30.) 

The Temple then taught to the Israelites, and, 
through them, to the neighboring nations, this 
great, practical truth, that Jehovah, though 
the infinite and ineffable Spirit, " whom no man 
hath seen, or can see," does manifest himself in 
mercy to man, that he hears the prayer of the 
penitent, and restores his erring child to his favor 
and image. 

With the same view, God raised up among 
them a long succession of prophets, men of high 
inspiration and saintly virtue, who, controlled by 
the Spirit of truth, uttered oracles of divine wis- 
dom, denounced the judgments of the Almighty 
against sin, and proclaimed, in grand and pas- 
sionate numbers, the advent of the Holy One, 
the Redeemer of Israel and the Hope of the 
world. Moses announced him as " the Prophet, 
like unto himself," whom all were bound "to 
hear ; " Jacob, as " the Shiloh," unto whom 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 139 

should " the gathering of the people be ; " Isaian, 
as " the Wonderful," " the Mighty God," " the 
Prince of Peace," who, while " making his soul 
an offering for sin," should yet " prolong his 
days," and reign over his people forever ; Daniel, 
as " the Ancient of Days," the " Messiah," or 
the " Anointed and Princely One ; " and Mala- 
chi, the last of the ancient prophetic line, as 
" the Sun of Righteousness," who should " arise 
with healing in his wings." 

They speak of him as gentle and lowly, " de- 
spised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief," and yet of kingly 
might, " glorious in his apparel," " travelling in 
the greatness of his strength," and " mighty to 
save," as David's Son and David's Lord, the 
Sovereign of the Temple, and the Messenger of 
the Covenant; as " giving his back to the scat- 
ters, and his cheek to them that plucked off' the 
hair," dragged as " a lamb to the slaughter," 
" stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted," " num- 
bered with transgressors," and finally " cut off* 
out of the land of the living," by a premature 
and ignominious death ; and yet as living, reign- 
ing, triumphant, a God confessed, loved, and 
adored by myriads, his power resistless, his reign 
universal and everlasting. Contrasts the most 
singular, and yet the most singularly fulfilled in 
the person of him, who, ages after, was described 



140 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

by the last of the apostles as "the Root and Off- 
spring of David, the Bright and the Morning 
Star." * 

The physical or geographical position of the 
holy people corresponds to their character and 
destiny. They were planted in a goodly land, 
in a singularly protected but fertile heritage 
among the mountains, with Asia on the one 
side, and Europe on the other, quite near to 
Egypt and Ethiopia, and not far from Greece 
and Rome ; with rivers, roads, and seas around 
them, sufficient, when the time came, to link 
them with the commercial, political, and religious 
destiny of the world. 

For the same end, they were made to pass 
through a severe and peculiar discipline, until 
their idolatrous tendency was completely burned 
out, and the whole nation became as much dis- 
tinguished for their hatred of idolatry, as, in 
former times, for their strange proclivity to this 
very sin. 

This was the true secret of the exode from 
Egypt, and the peculiar circumstances in which 
that took place ; and this too was the principal 
reason of their long captivity in " the far East." 

Nothing could be better fitted than the exode, 
and the splendid series of miracles by which it 

* See Hengstenberg's Christology, passim, for admirable criticisms 
and explanations of the Messianic predictions. 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 141 

was preceded and accompanied, to cure their 
idolatry, contracted from long residence and 
bondage in Egypt, and train them for their pe- 
culiar destiny as a sacred race. The Sun-gods 
of Egypt, the sacred Nile, the holy priesthood 
and animals of pagan adoration, were stultified 
and conquered before the God of Israel. How 
singularly, too, was Moses prepared for his high 
destiny, nurtured first in Egypt, and then in the 
far wilderness, alone with nature and with God ; 
a man of a simple, energetic mind, w T ith no pre- 
tensions to those oratorical gifts which gain the 
public attention, but a devout Theist, with an utter 
abhorrence of idolatry, and a profound sense of 
the all-pervading presence and spirituality of God. 
He appears with his brother Aaron, more highly 
gifted as a speaker than himself, in the presence 
of his people, and calls upon them in the name of 
God, from whom he had received his commission, 
to cast off the bondage of Egypt, and return to 
the land of their fathers. Reluctant and doubt- 
ful, they finally yield to what seems to be the 
evident command of God. Application is then 
made to the Emperor of Egypt, who, like other 
Oriental monarchs, probably held open court 
to hear the petitions and try the causes of 
his people, for permission, at the command of 
God, to pass into the wilderness, to offer a 
solemn sacrifice. This is peremptorily denied; 



142 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

new burdens are imposed upon the people, who 
murmur against Moses and Aaron, as the cause 
of these calamities. Then the contest between 
Theism and idolatry, freedom and despotism be- 
gins. Moses had come from converse, in the 
wilderness, with the ineffable " I am that I am," 
and presented his claims to attention, in the 
name of the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of 
Jacob, who appeared to him in the bush. He 
must therefore vindicate his commission, and 
prove, before all, the supremacy of Jehovah, in 
whose name he acted. How this was accom- 
plished, the following extract from Milman's 
History of the Jews will strikingly show. " Again 
they [Moses and Aaron] appear in the royal 
presence, having announced, it should seem, their 
pretensions to miraculous powers ; and now com- 
menced a contest, unequal, it would at first appear, 
between two individuals of an enslaved people, 
and the whole skill, knowledge, or artifice of the 
Egyptian priesthood, whose sacred authority was 
universally acknowledged; their intimate ac- 
quaintance with all the secrets of nature exten- 
sive ; their reputation for magical powers firmly 
established with the vulgar. The names of the 
principal opponents of Moses, Jannes and Jam- 
bres, are reported by St. Paul from Jewish tra- 
ditions ; and it is curious that in Pliny and 
Apuleius the names of Moses and Jannes are 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 143 

recorded as celebrated proficients in magical 
arts. 

u The contest began in the presence of the 
king. Aaron cast down his rod, which was in- 
stantaneously transformed into a serpent. The 
magicians performed the same feat. The dex- 
terous tricks which the Eastern and African jug- 
glers play with serpents will easily account for 
this without any supernatural assistance. It 
might be done either by adroitly substituting 
the serpent for the rod, or by causing the ser- 
pent to assume a stiff appearance like a rod or 
staff, which, being cast down on the ground, 
might become again pliant and animated. But 
Aaron's serpent swallowed up the rest — a cir- 
cumstance, however extraordinary, yet not likely 
to work conviction upon a people familiar with 
such feats, which they ascribed to magic. Still 
the slaves had now assumed courage, their de- 
mands were more peremptory, their wonders 
more general and public. The plagues of Egypt, 
which successively afflicted the priesthood, the 
king, and almost every deity honored in their 
comprehensive pantheon, which infected every 
element, and rose, in terrible gradation, one above 
the other, now began. Pharaoh was standing 
on the brink of the sacred river, the great object 
of Egyptian adoration, not improbably in the 
performance of some ceremonial ablution, or 



L44 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

making an offering to the native deity of the 
land. The leaders of the Israelites approached, 
and renewed their demand for freedom. It was 
rejected; and at once the holy river, with all the 
waters of the land, were turned to blood. The 
fish, many of which were objects of divine wor- 
ship, perished. Still the priesthood were not yet 
baffled. The Egyptians having dug for fresh 
and pure water in some of these artificial tanks 
or reservoirs, the magicians contrived to effect a 
similar change. As their holy abhorrence of 
blood would probably prevent them from dis- 
charging so impure a fluid into the new reser- 
voirs, they might, without great difficulty, produce 
the appearance by some secret and chemical 
means. The waters of the Nile, it is well known, 
about their period of increase, usually assume a 
red tinge, either from the color of the Ethiopian 
soil, which is washed down, or from a number 
of insects of that color. Writers who endeavor 
to account for these miracles by natural means, 
suppose that Moses took the opportunity of this 
periodical change to terrify the superstitious 
Egyptians. Yet that Moses should place any 
reliance on, or the Egyptians feel the least ap- 
prehension at, an ordinary occurrence, which 
took place every year, seems little less incredible 
than the miracle itself. For seven days the god 
of the river was thus rebuked before the God of 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 145 

the stranger ; instead of the soft and delicious 
water, spoken of by travellers as peculiarly grate- 
ful to the taste, the foetid stream ran with that 
of which the Egyptians had the greatest abhor- 
rence. To shed, or even to behold blood, was 
repugnant to all their feelings and prejudices. 
Still the king was inflexible, and from the sacred 
stream was derived the second plague. The 
whole land was suddenly covered with frogs. 
The houses, the chambers, even the places where 
they prepared their food, swarmed with these 
loathsome reptiles. It is undoubtedly possible 
that the corrupted waters might quicken the birth 
of these creatures, the spawn of which abounded 
in all the marshy and irrigated districts. Hence 
the priests would have no difficulty in bringing 
them forth in considerable numbers. The sud- 
den cessation of this mischief, at the prayer of 
Moses, is by far the most extraordinary part of 
this transaction, — in one day all the frogs, ex- 
cept those in the river, were destroyed. So far 
the contest had been maintained without mani- 
fest advantage on either side. But the next 
plague reduced the antagonists of Moses to a 
more difficult predicament. With the priesthood 
the most scrupulous cleanliness was inseparable 
from their sanctity. These Bramins of Egypt, 
so fastidiously abhorrent of every kind of per- 
sonal impurity, that they shaved every part 
13 



146 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

which might possibly harbor vermin, practised 
ablutions four times a day, wore no garments 
but of the finest linen, because woollen might 
conceal either filth or insects, heard with the 
greatest horror, that the dirt had been changed 
into lice, and that this same vermin, thus called 
into existence, was spreading over the whole 
country. After a vain attempt, notwithstanding 
their prejudices, to imitate their opponent, they 
withdrew for the present from the contest. But 
the pride of the king was not yet broken, and 
the plagues followed in rapid and dreadful suc- 
cession. Swarms of flies, < probably poisonous' 
in unusual numbers, covered the whole land ; by 
the intercession of Moses they were dispersed. 
Next, all the cattle, of every description, were 
smitten with a destructive murrain, all but those 
of the Israelites, who were exempt from this as 
from the former calamity. This last blow might 
seem to strike not merely at the wealth, but at 
an important part of the religion of Egypt, their 
animal worship. The goat worshipped at Men- 
des, the ram at Thebes, the more general deity, 
the bull Apis, were perhaps involved in the uni- 
versal destruction. Still this is by no means 
certain, as the plague seems to have fallen only 
on the animals which were in the open pastures; 
it is clear that the war horses escaped. If this 
plague reached the deities, the next was aimed 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 147 

at the sacred persons of the priesthood, no less 
than at the meaner people. Moses took the 
ashes of the furnace, perhaps the brick kiln in 
which the wretched slaves were laboring, cast 
thern into the air, and where they fell the skin 
broke out in boils. The magicians, in terror and 
bodily anguish, fled away. It is impossible to 
read the following passage from Plutarch, with- 
out observing so remarkable a coincidence be- 
tween the significant action of Moses and the 
Egyptian rite, as to leave little doubt that some 
allusion was intended. l In the city of Eilithuia,' 
as Manetho relates, calling them Typhonian, (as 
sacrificed to Typhon,) < they burned men alive, 
and winnowing their ashes, scattered them in the 
air and dispersed them.' The usual objects of 
these sacrifices were people with red hair, doubt- 
less their old enemies the shepherds. Had any 
of the Israelites suffered in these horrid furnaces, 
it would add singular force and justice to the 
punishment inflicted on the priests and people. 
It would thus have been from the ashes of their 
own victims, that their skins were burning with 
insufferable agony, and breaking out into loath- 
some disease. The next plague, though in most 
tropical climates it would have been an ordinary 
occurrence, in Egypt was an event as unusual 
as alarming. All ancient and modern writers 
agree that rain, though by no means unknown, 



14^ CHRIST IX BISTORT. 

falls but seldom in that country. It appears to 
be rather less uncommon now than formerly 
According to Herodotus, it rained once at 
Thebes, and the circumstance excited general 
apprehension. ' There, at present,' says Belzoni, 
1 two or three days of moderate rain generally 
occur during the winter.' But lower down, in 
the part of the valley where these events took 
place, it is still an uncommon, though not an 
unprecedented phenomenon. Hasselquist saw T 
it rain at Alexandria, and other parts of the 
Delta ; Pocock saw even hail at Faiume. Or- 
dinarily, however, the Nile, with its periodical 
overflow and constant exhalations, supplies the 
want of the cool and refreshing shower. Now, 
according to the prediction of Moses, a tremen- 
dous tempest burst over the country. Thunder 
and hail, and fire mingled with the hail, { that 
ran upon the ground,' rent the branches from the 
trees, and laid prostrate the whole harvest. From 
the cultivation of flax, Egypt possessed the great 
linen manufacture of the ancient world ; on the 
barley the common people depended for their usual 
drink, the rich soil of Egypt in general being 
unfit for the vine. Both these crops were totally 
destroyed. The rye and the wheat, being later, 
escaped. This tempest must, therefore, have 
taken place at the beginning of March. By 
this time the inflexible obstinacy of the king 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 143 

began to fail ; on the deliverance of the country 
from this dreadful visitation, he engaged to re- 
lease the bondmen. At the word of Moses the 
storm ceased. Still, to deprive the whole land 
of so valuable a body of slaves, seemed too great 
a sacrifice to the policy, and too humiliating a 
concession to the pride of the monarch. To 
complete the desolation of the country, the corn 
lands were next laid waste by other means of 
destruction. The situation of Egypt usually 
secures the country from that worst enemy to 
the fertility of the Asiatic provinces, the locusts. 
As these insects fly in general from east to west, 
and cannot remain on the wing for any length 
of time, the width of the Red Sea presents a 
secure barrier to their invasions. Their dreadful 
ravage is scarcely exaggerated by the strong 
images of the prophets, particularly the sublime 
description in Joel. Where they alight, all vege- 
tation at once disappears ; not a blade of grass, 
not a leaf, escapes them ; the soil seems as if it 
were burnt up by fire ; they obscure the sun as 
with a cloud ; they cover sometimes a space of 
nine miles, and thus they march on in their regu- 
lar files, till ' the land which was as the garden of 
Eden before them, behind them is a desolate wil- 
derness? Such was the next visitation which 
came to glean the few remaining signs of the 
accustomed abundance of Egypt, spared by the 
13* 



150 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

tempest, A strong and regular east wind brought 
the fatal cloud from the Arabian shore, or, ac- 
cording to the Septuagint translation, a south 
wind from the regions of Abyssinia. The court 
now began to murmur at the unbending spirit 
of the king ; on the intimation of this new 
calamity, he had determined to come to terms. 
He offered to permit all the adults to depart, but 
insisted on retaining the children, either as host- 
ages for the return of the parents, or in order to 
perpetuate a race of slaves for the future. Now 
he was for an instant inclined to yield this point; 
but when the west wind had driven these destroy- 
ing ravagers into the sea, he recalled all his con- 
cessions, and continued steadfast in his former 
resolutions of resistance to the utmost. At 
length, therefore, their great divinity, the Sun, 
was to be put to shame before the God of the 
slave and the stranger. For three whole days, 
as Moses stretched his hand toward heaven, a 
darkness, described with unexampled force as a 
darkness that might be felt, overspread the 
land ; not merely was the sun unable to pene- 
trate the gloom, and enlighten his favored land, 
but they could distinguish nothing, and were 
constrained to sit in awe-struck inactivity. The 
king would now gladly consent to the departure 
of the whole race, children as well as grown-up 
men ; yet, as all the latter plagues, the flies, the 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 151 

murrain, the hail, the locusts, the darkness ha(? 
spared the land of Goshen, the cattle of that 
district, in the exhausted state of the country, 
was invaluable ; he demands that these should 
be surrendered as the price of freedom. < Our 
cattle also shall go with us, not a hoof shall bt 
left behind,' replies his inexorable antagonist 
Thus, then, the whole kingdom of Egypt hao 
been laid waste by successive calamities ; the 
cruelty of the oppressors had been dreadfully 
avenged ; all classes had suffered in the undis 
criminating desolation. Their pride had bee/ 
humbled ; their most sacred prejudices wounded; 
the Nile had been contaminated ; their dwellings 
polluted by loathsome reptiles ; their cleanly per- 
sons defiled by vermin ; their pure air had 
swarmed with troublesome insects ; their cattle 
had perished by a dreadful malady ; their bodies 
broken out with a filthy disease ; their early har- 
vest had been destroyed by the hail, the latter by 
the locusts ; an awful darkness had enveloped 
them for three days, but still the deliverance was 
to be extorted by a calamity more dreadful than 
all these. The Israelites will not depart poor 
and empty handed ; they will receive some com- 
pensation for their years of hard and cruel ser- 
vitude ; they levy on their awe-struck masters 
contributions in gold, silver, and jewels. Some, 
especially later writers, have supposed that they 



If) 2 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

exacted these gifts by main force, and with arms 
in their hands. Undoubtedly, though the Isra- 
elites appear to have offered no resistance to the 
Egyptian horsemen and chariots which pursued 
them in the desert, they fight with the Amalek- 
ites, and afterward arrive, an armed people, on 
the borders of Canaan. Josephus ■ accounts for 
this, but not quite satisfactorily, by supposing 
that they got possession of the arms of the 
Egyptians, washed ashore after their destruction 
in the Red Sea. But the general awe and con- 
fusion are sufficient to explain the facility with 
which the Israelites collected these treasures. 
The slaves had become objects of superstitious 
terror; to propitiate them with gifts was natural, 
and their leader authorized their reception of all 
presents which might thus be offered. The night 
drew on, the last night of servitude to the people 
of Israel, a night of unprecedented horror to the 
ancient kingdom of Egypt. The Hebrews were 
employed in celebrating that remarkable rite, 
which they have observed for ages down to the 
present day. The Passover, the memorial that 
God passed over them when he destroyed the 
first born of all Egypt, has been kept under this 
significant name, and still is kept as the memo- 
rial of their deliverance from Egypt, by every 
faithful descendant of Abraham. Each family 
was to sacrifice a lamb without blemish, to 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 153 

anoint their door posts and the lintels of their 
houses with its blood, and to feast upon the re- 
mainder. The sacrifice was over, the feast con- 
cluded, when that dreadful event took place, 
which it would be presumptuous profanation to 
relate, except in the words of the Hebrew annal- 
ist. < And it came to pass, that at midnight the 
Lord smote all the first born in the land of Egypt, 
from the first born of Pharaoh, that sat on the 
throne, unto the first born of the captive that 
was in the dungeon, and all the first born of the 
cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he 
and all his servants, and all the Egyptians ; and 
there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was 
not a house where there was not one dead.' 
The horrors of this night may be better con- 
ceived, when we call to mind that the Egyptians 
were noted for the wild and frantic wailings 
with which they lamented their dead. Scream- 
ing women rush about with dishevelled hair, 
troops of people assemble in tumultuous com- 
miseration around the house, where a single 
corpse is laid out — and now every house and 
every family had its victim. Hebrew tradition 
has increased the horror of the calamity, assert- 
ing that the temples were shaken, the idols over- 
thrown, the sacred animals, chosen as the first 
born, involved in the universal destruction. 
While every household of Egypt was occupied 



154 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

in its share of the general calamity, the people 
of Israel, probably drawn together during the 
suspension of all labor, caused by the former 
calamities, or assembled in Goshen to celebrate 
the new national festival already organized by a 
sort of discipline among the separate tribes ; 
with all their flocks and herds, with sufficient 
provisions for an immediate supply, and with 
the booty they had extorted from their masters, 
stood prepared as one man for the signal of de- 
parture. During the night the permission, or 
rather entreaty, that they would instantly evacu- 
ate the country, arrived, yet no one stirred before 
the morning, perhaps apprehensive lest the 
slaughter should be attributed to them, or in re- 
ligious fear of encountering the angel of destruc- 
tion. The Egyptians became only anxious to 
accelerate their departure, and thus the Hebrew 
people set forth to seek a land of freedom, bear- 
ing with them the bones of their great ancestor 
Joseph." 

Thus were the Jews organized, and fairly com- 
mitted before the world as the chosen people, and 
submitted to that long train of change and disci- 
pline, by which they were fitted to be the vehicle 
for communicating the truth of God, to the na- 
tions of the modern civilized world. 

Hence their long sojourn in the wilderness, 
their reception of the law from Sinai, their final 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 155 

planting in Canaan, and the peculiar institutions, 
rites, and usages by which they were distinguished 
from all the world besides. The whole was in- 
tended to extinguish idolatry, and introduce both 
among Jews and Gentiles the reign of God. 

It is on this ground we may justify the com- 
mand to exterminate the Canaanites, inveterate 
and even bestial idolaters, indulging as they did 
in the grossest sensuality, and making their chil- 
dren pass through the fire to Moloch. It was ab- 
solutely necessary to the preservation among the 
Jews of any thing like purity of character, or spir- 
ituality of worship. Nothing, indeed, but a spe- 
cial divine injunction could legalize the proced- 
ing ; but this given, it was found the strongest 
protest against idolatry, and the most effectual 
means of preserving the national virtue. Had it 
been fully carried out, the Jews would have re- 
mained in their own land, a beacon light to the 
surrounding nations. That many of the Ca- 
naanites were left in the country, and permitted 
to form alliances with Hebrew families, and 
finally, through the influence of Jeroboam and 
others, " who made Israel to sin," to introduce 
their pagan rites among the Jews, is a fact well 
'known. It is also the only one which accounts 
for their final apostasy, from the fatal conse- 
quences of which they were saved only by foreign 
exile. Their long captivity under the kings of 



156 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Chaldea and Persia, brought out more distinctly 
the national character, and finally saved them 
from idolatry. 

Being separated at first, as was meet, from all 
the nations of the earth, by a severe, and what 
some have deemed a barbarous discipline, they 
were subsequently, by a series of the most sin- 
gular dispersions, such as no other nation has 
ever experienced without extinction, scattered 
over the world in Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, 
Greece and Rome, in Egypt and in " the parts 
about Libya and Cyrene." They were very 
numerous in Babylon, where they long remained, 
first through captivity, and then through choice, 
and in that and many of the adjacent coun- 
tries, became the teachers of their conquerors. 
They had synagogues in all the principal cities 
of Asia Minor, in Persia, and even in India. 
Temple worship was performed in Alexandria, 
and thousands, both of Jews and Gentiles, in 
Egypt, read in their own vernacular, the transla- 
tion of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint. 
Many Jews lived in Arabia, and so spread their 
Messianic hopes among the tribes of the wilder- 
ness, as well as among the more cultivated com- 
munities of the ancient world. Other nations 
passed away ; but they remained, partly among 
the heathen, partly in their own land ; their views 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 157 

the same, their hopes the same. They had gained 
numerous proselytes in heathen lands about the 
time which preceded the advent of Christ. Hence 
the universal expectation of this event, cherished 
through the Oriental world. Hence, especially, 
the existence of this hope among the sages of 
Babylon, or Arabia, according to some, and its 
final realization by the Magi, who came to Jeru- 
salem to worship the new-born King.* 

* See Appendix, Note C. 

14 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE CENTRAL RACE. — PRELUDES AND PREPARATIONS- 

That the Hebrews, as " a peculiar people," pos- 
sessed the character and performed the functions 
ascribed to them in the preceding chapter, can 
admit of no reasonable doubt ; for the fact stands 
before us, account for it as we may, that ancient 
history, in its higher relations, revolved around 
them, and finally converged at Jerusalem in the 
cross of Christ. 

The most inveterate sceptic, at all familiar with 
the annals of the past, must allow that one of 
the great purposes, served by this old Hebrew 
stock, was the preparation of the world for the 
Messiah, and his actual advent, in the fulness of 
the times, from the very bosom of the race that 
rejected him as their king. Strange that they 
should reject him, and yet give him to the world. 
Yet such is the actual fact. So that they and 
all other nations have been " as clay in the hands 
of the potter," for the production of this sublime 
result. Let the rationale of the thing be as it 
may in the view of speculative minds, the hand 
of God is visible in the whole history of the Jews, 

(158) 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 159 

and of the neighboring nations, who actually do 
homage to this politically insignificant race ; the 
consequence of which is not only a Messiah, but 
a pure and perfect religion, a new era in history, 
a new power in the heart of society, a new life in 
the soul of man. Great was Rome, on account of 
her colossal power, complete organization, mar- 
tial energy, and legal force. Great also was Greece, 
greater even than Rome, from the breadth and 
grandeur of her philosophic thought, and, above 
all, from the exquisite beauty of her poetry and 
art. The power of law, and the grace of form, 
are represented by these, the most highly culti- 
vated of all the ancient nations ; but all this, as 
even the merest tyro knows, has been drawn into 
the Christian civilization. Blending with the 
faith of God, and the hope of a glorious 
immortality, and especially the spirit of universal 
charity, the purest product of faith, all that is 
really valuable in ancient civilization has been per- 
petuated through Christ, and not only so, but 
sublimed to higher use. Law now is recognized 
as having its seat in the bosom of God, and 
beauty shines upon us, radiant and immortal, 
from the face of Jesus. Both are discovered to us 
as eternal powers. 

The character and position, then, of the Hebrew 
race, are to be estimated with especial reference to 
Christ, and the amazing influence thence exerted 



160 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

in the history of mankind. It is obvious, even 
to the most superficial view, that the leading 
forces of modern society are derived from this 
peculiar nation. "Scattered and peeled" as they 
have generally been, and as they still, to some 
extent, are ; often dispersed and trampled upon 
by the nations, and, indeed, with many obvious 
defects of character, which their own writers freely 
acknowledge, they have done a work for the 
world, the stupendous consequences of which can 
be estimated only at the close of time. The old 
forms of religion in the East are dead or dying. 
All their civilizations are undermined, and totter- 
ing to their fall. Not one of the pagan nations is 
making the slightest progress. To such progress, 
idolatry and polygamy, the power of caste and 
the taint of superstition, oppose effectual barriers. 
All are stationary, or absolutely dying out. The 
religion of the crescent, with some elements of 
power, but more of weakness, has long since 
reached its culmination. Its rapid decline is 
obvious to the world. All Mohammedan com- 
munities are suffering from sterility and weakness. 
A vigorous blow from without would dash them to 
pieces. Judaism, shorn of its early strength, and 
standing simply as the nominis umbra, the shad- 
ow of a reality, which has passed into Christianity, 
is ready to vanish away. Christianity and the 
Christian form of civilization, yet imperfectly 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 161 

evolved, alone are strong and progressive. Every- 
where they penetrate with their new views, new 
aspirations, and activities. Under their influence, 
industry and the arts, science and social life pros- 
per. Especially is this the case in those nations 
and communities which have formed the clearest 
and loftiest conceptions of Christianity, as a liv- 
ing, practical power. God is in them, because 
Christ is in them. And where God is, there char- 
ity, freedom, and activity abound. 

Now to whom, under God, do we owe all this, 
but to that old Hebrew stock, or, at least, that 
portion of it who are " the true Israelites, to 
whom pertaineth the adoption, the glory, and the 
covenants, and the giving of the law, and the 
service of God, and the promises ; whose are 
the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, 
Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for- 
ever ? " (Rom. ix. 4.) And even if, by their rejec- 
tion of Christ, the modern Jews, as a nation, are 
"cast away," have they not become, on this very 
account, as St. Paul shows, "the riches of the 
world ? " * 

If, then, among the nations at large, we find 
a general preparation for Christ; if in this re- 
spect Jesus, as " God manifest in the flesh," is 
proved to be the centre of a new spiritual sphere, 

* In the eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. 

14* 



162 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and " the Desire of all nations," we shall find 
among the Hebrews a special preparation, nay, 
more actual " preludings," as one of the English 
divines has called them, of his advent and in- 
carnation.* In the sphere of matter, shadows 
follow realities; in that of religion, they go be- 
fore them. 

Hence the various theophanies, or divine man- 
ifestations in human form, granted to the patri- 
archs, the prophets, and the Jewish people gen- 
erally, recognized in the New Testament as ap- 
pearances of the divine Word, or the Messiah. 
The Jews had the same idea of God, which has 
approved itself to the profoundest speculative in- 
tellects, — Plato, Philo, Anselm, Bacon, Leibnitz, 
Newton, Kant, Schelling, and Cousin, — namely, 
that the infinite, invisible Jehovah, who is above 
all things, and yet comprehends all things, can 
never adequately reveal himself to the finite 
intellect. All passing into the finite, on his part, 
must be by limitation. At least, it must so ap- 
pear to our faculties. To us, then, God cannot 
be known in himself, that is, in his infinite, 
absolute perfection. He must appear in an- 
other self, the same, and yet not the same, that 
is, in some divine Logos, Son, or Messiah, who, 
as a definite personality, may reveal Him to 
us in an august, but limited and shaded form, 

* Bishop Bull. 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 163 

Hence the more eminent Hebrew writers, and 
among these the apostles John and Paul, ascribe 
the creation of the world to Christ, " by whom 
are all things," and " for whom are all things," 
and " in whom all things consist." When God 
creates, he goes forth, so to speak, into space 
and time ; but this limitation being impossible 
for an infinite Essence, he must go forth as a 
Word or Image of himself. Only thus can God 
be regarded as a conceivable personality. So that 
the Hebrew notion upon the subject is founded 
in the very nature of things, and commends it- 
self to every thoughtful mind. It is only thus 
that God' can discover himself to men, only thus 
that he can enter into personal relations with 
his creatures. "In the beginning," then, "was 
the Word, and the Word was with God, and 
the Word was God." That is, the Word is the 
manifested Deity, whether embodied in the out- 
ward universe, or incarnated in the person of 
Jesus Christ. This is that Voice, or Word of 
God, that appeared to our first parents in the 
garden of Eden ; that discovered himself to 
Enoch, walking with him as a friend ; that re- 
vealed himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as 
their Elohim, being familiarly known as " the 
God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob," ap- 
pearing to them as a divine or angelic man, 
often conversing with them, or performing on 



164 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

their behalf acts of benignity and help. This 
was the Angel-God adored by Moses in the 
bush, who discovered himself to the prophet as 
the " I am that I am," that is, the manifested 
form of the absolute and eternal One, in whom 
all being is centred, and from whom all life for- 
ever flows. God in Essence is invisible, and 
even inconceivable, as Moses well knew ; for he 
never lost sight of his absolute spirituality. 
Him, therefore, he could never behold "face to 
face ; " but his Image, or Voice, could be made 
manifest and conceivable to his finite reason. 
This imaged or embodied Deity, then, is the 
God who spoke to Moses, "face to face," as one 
man speaks to another, by visible or audible 
signs, and who, when the prophet stood in the 
cleft of the rock, made his glory pass before him, 
declaring himself to be " the Lord, the Lord God, 
merciful and gracious," whose "face," that is, 
whose direct and essential glory could not be seen, 
but whose " back parts," more properly, whose 
train, that is, the subdued and shadowed reflec- 
tion of his ineffable brightness, like the train of 
burnished clouds which follow the sun sinking 
beneath the horizon, could alone be made visible 
to mortal eyes. This was "the Angel of his 
Presence," or simply the Divine Presence, the 
Angel of the Covenant, in whom was " the 
name," or nature of God, and who went before 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 165 

the Israelites in their journeyings through the 
wilderness; a fact distinctly recognized in the 
dying address of St. Stephen, as well as in the 
language of the Pentateuch.* This, too, was 
" the Captain of the Lord's host," worshipped by 
Joshua, and " the Angel," or rather " the Lord," 
who appeared to Manoah and his wife, and 
" did wondrously " with the sacrifice on the rock. 
This, in fact, is that " Lord of hosts," who 
appeared to the prophets, sometimes in the tem- 
ple, sometimes in the wilderness, and sometimes 
in their own humble dwellings, from whom they 
received their commissions, and whose high be- 
hests they were ever willing to perform. " In 
the year that king Uzziah died," writes Isaiah, 
with sublime and thrilling words, " I saw also 
the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up,- 
and his train filled the temple. Above it stood 
the seraphims : each one had six wings; with 
twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did 
fly. And one cried unto another, and said, 
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole 
earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the 
door moved at the voice of him that cried, and 
the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, 
Woe is me ! for I am undone ; because I am a 
man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a peo- 

* Compare Exodus xxiii. 20-22 ; xxxiii. 14, 15, with Acts of the 
Apostles vii. 38, 39, and 1 Cor. x. 41 ; as also v. 9. 



166 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

pie of unclean lips ; for mine eyes have seen the 
King, the Lord of hosts." * In a word, this was 
the manifested Divinity, who, in shadowy form, 
discovered himself to the chosen people, and who 
finally, in actual human shape, became incarnate 
as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. 
Hence the peculiar phraseology of the Psalms, 
in which this great truth is frequently recog- 
nized : " The Lord said unto my Lord ; " in the 
Hebrew, " Jehovah said to my Jehovah, Sit thou 
on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy 
footstool ; " a passage applied to himself by Je- 
sus Christ, who, when the Pharisees had ad- 
mitted that the Messiah was the Son of David, 
put to them this pertinent question : " How, then, 
doth David call him Lord, [Adonai, Lord of ex- 
cellence,] saying, The Lord said unto my Lord," 
&c.?f 

Indeed, the great truth was well understood by 
the ancient Hebrew believers, and recognized in 
their whole Talmudic literature, that the Messiah, 
who should spring from the family of David, and 
from the tribe of Judah, was to be at once David* s 
Son and David's Lord. " Rabbi," was the devout 
confession of a true Israelite, when he discovered 



* Isaiah vi. 1-5. Compare St. Johnxii. 31. " These things said 
Esaias when he saw his glory." 
f Matt. xxii. 42-46. 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 167 

the Messiah, " thou art the Son of God ; thou 
art the King of Israel ! " * 

The fact, then, is established, that it was 
among this strange people that the true idea of 
God, manifested as a distinct personality, through 
the divine Word, was cherished and perpetuated, 
and that religion, in its severe grandeur, received 
its highest development in ancient times. When 
Pompey entered the Holy of Holies, in the tem- 
ple of Jerusalem, he was astonished to find no 
image there, such as all other nations worshipped. 
But the Hebrews were a Heaven-instructed race, 
who recognized the eternal Jehovah as an infinite, 
ineffable Essence, revealed to them only "in 
part," and thence longed for that more perfect 
manifestation of his glory, in the coming Messiah. 

Thus it is seen, that the dispensation of Moses, 
in comparison with the higher form of religion 
under Christ, is but the raw spring, to the reful- 
gent summer, or the crude and somewhat un- 
sightly root, to the resplendent flower. Nor is 
this unnatural. For it is ever God's method, 
both in nature and in society, to discover himself, 
and accomplish his designs, by gradual steps and 
processes. The first, indeed, is as vital as the 
rest, but, in comparison, appears narrow and 
defective. For, in the dark root lies the stem, in 

* The various theophanies of the Old Testament are given, in their 
order, in the first volume of Hengstenberg's Christology. 



168 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the stem the leaf and bud, and in the bud the 
blushing rose. Cold winter, sterile as it may 
seem, carries in its bosom the palpitating spring, 
the spring the radiant summer and abundant 
autumn. The child, with its crude simplici- 
ty, may be " father to the man ; " while the weak 
and ill-formed society, governed, perhaps, as a 
patriarchate or a nomadic tribe, is parent to the 
free and prosperous commonwealth. We are 
not, then, to judge of Judaism by its unsightly 
root, or its rough and prickly rind ; not by the 
accidental circumstances with which it was en- 
vironed, or the stormy changes through which it 
passed, and by which it was developed ; not by 
the faults of its early members, or the crimes of 
those who succeeded them ; above all, we are 
not to judge of it by the obvious imperfections in 
legislation and social life, for a season permitted, 
or rather overlooked, by Jehovah, in order to be 
finally corrected or entirely extinguished ; but by 
its interior spirit, its elemental powers, its grand 
spiritual truths — God and the soul, the union 
of the human and divine, and the final marriage 
of heaven and earth by the mediation of a divine 
Messiah — in a word, by the glorious flower 
evolved through spiritual forces from its bosom, 
expanding in the fair sunlight, and filling the 
whole earth with its heavenly aroma. 

Some persons, poorly informed upon the sub- 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 169 

ject, or occupied with sceptical prepossessions, 
have represented the God of the Jews as narrow 
and local, like the god of the hills, or the god of 
the vales, of whom the Canaanites dreamed.* It 
is true, the Jewish conception of God, at times, 
may have caught some such taint; but, in the 
Scriptures, the God of Israel is ever represented 
as supreme over all worlds and all nations; the 
All-mighty, the All-holy, the All-merciful, the 
one, Living, and True God, who created and who 
sustains the heavens and the earth ; the I am that 
I am; as if all being, infinite and everlasting, 
belonged to him ; the King of kings and Lord 
of lords, " gracious and long-suffering, slow 
to wrath, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and 
sin." Thus was he revealed to Moses, and 
thus to all the prophets. Thus is he represented 
in the Psalms, those sublime lyrics, from which 
poets, in all ages, have borrowed their loftiest 
images of Him, who is " above all, through all, 
and in all." f 

So, also, it has been concluded that, in the Old 
Testament, the immortality of the soul is not 

* Goethe, for example, in the first volume of his Dichtung una 
Wahrheit. It first appears, however, in Spinoza's Tractatus Theo. 
Pohticus. Of course it figures largely in the works of Strauss, Par- 
ker, and Newman. 

t See Gen. i. 1 ; Exod. xx. 8-12 ; xxxi. 17 ; Deut. iv. 23. Compare 
Gen. xiv. 18-20, xvii. 1-9, xviii. 16-25, xxxix. 9, 1. 20 ; Exod. vi. 3 ; 
Deut. iv. 32-36 ; Deut. x. 14-18 ; Psalms ciii. and civ.; Isai. zL 
12-18, 25-3.1. 

15 



170 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

recognized; whereas that great truth is neces- 
sarily involved in the spirituality of God, and 
especially in the doctrine of his union and fel- 
lowship with man. Long after the patriarchs 
were dead, Jehovah speaks of himself to Moses 
as the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, 
whence our Savior deduced the doctrine of the 
spirituality and consequent immortality of man, 
or what he termed the doctrine of the anastasis, 
or resurrection state, that is, the spiritual exist- 
ence of man subsequent to death, on which the 
fact of a literal resurrection must ultimately be 
based. For u God is not the God of the dead, 
but of the living." And not only our Savior, but 
all the ancient prophets, deduced from it the 
same great truth ; so that the hope, not only of 
the dying, but of the living Jew, ever passed the 
precincts of mortality; while all the prophets 
sang triumphantly of a spiritual and everlasting 
kingdom beyond this world and time.* Long 
before our Savior appeared, the doctrine of the 
spirituality of the soul, and even of the resurrec- 
tion of the dead, was strongly held by the great 

* We admit that the immortality of the soul is not specifically 
taught by Moses. So far as this is concerned, Warburton is right 
in his main position. It does not follow from this, however, that it 
is not implied in the doctrine of the spirituality of God, and of the 
consequent spirituality of man, formed, according to Moses, in the 
image of God. It is taught plainly enough in other parts of the Old 
Testament. For the proof texts, see Jahn's Bib. Arch. p. 397. 



THE CENTRAL KACE. 171 

body of the Jewish nation. Dimly and imper- 
fectly realized, it is true, yet still known and 
believed ; a circumstance which explains two 
facts : first, that the Jews, in our Savior's time, 
in their conversations with him, speak often of 
the resurrection, or resurrection state, (e. g., " in 
the resurrection whose shall she be ? " ) and, 
secondly, that, in the flood of glory with which 
Christ invested the doctrine, and in the vivid 
realization which he gave it, by his own resur- 
rection and ascension, he is justly said to have 
" brought life and immortality to light." 

As a people, whatever their faults and aber- 
rations, the old Hebrews lived under the govern- 
ment of the one eternal God, " the God of the 
whole earth," a practical theocracy, or rather 
divine commonwealth, and longed for the coming 
of the Messiah. Amid all their corruptions and 
dispersions, this was the polar star of their his- 
tory, their cloud by day and pillar of fire by 
night. Among the hills of Canaan ; on the 
banks of the sacred Nile ; in the beautiful Da- 
mascus ; by the ancient Euphrates, where they 
hung their harps on the willows ; in Antioch 
and Jerusalem ; in Babylon and Alexandria ; in 
Corinth, and in Rome ; wherever, indeed, they 
were scattered in later years, this was the " conso- 
lation of Israel" Never did this heaven-inspired 



172 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

hope forsake them. In the strange vicissitudes 
of their history, and even in their deepest debase- 
ment, cured forever of their idolatrous tendencies, 
severed completely by fire and sword, by famine 
and privation, by spiritual discipline and provi- 
dential dealing, from the corrupted mass of 
heathenism then enveloping the globe, and thus 
preserved, as the ark of truth and hope amid 
the sullen waves, they never lost the idea of one 
supreme Jehovah, or the hope of the coming 
Messiah, who should set up an everlasting empire 
of righteousness and peace. 

That which in other nations was dimly and 
imperfectly apprehended, associated with error 
and idolatry, or taught only to the select few as 
an esoteric doctrine, or a mere philosophical spec- 
ulation, was the common heritage of this singular 
people. 

It is clear, moreover, that neither the doctrine 
of God, nor of the immortality of the soul, nor of 
the union of the human and the divine, and thence 
of the reunion and restoration of mankind to their 
common Father, sprang spontaneously from the 
genius of the Hebrew people. These truths were 
communicated to them from a higher source, nay, 
drilled into them by long and peculiar discipline. 
The Jews were not philosophers. They knew 
nothing of metaphysical speculation. The idea 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 173 

had never dawned upon their minds, till the time 
of Philo, and scarcely then. Neither were they 
given to historical research, or curious learning. 
What they knew, they knew only as a tradition, 
or an inspiration. They could give no account 
of it, except that it came from heaven. This is 
strikingly exemplified in their views of the per- 
fect spirituality of God, notwithstanding their ac- 
knowledged anthropomorphism, and constant pro- 
clivity to idolatry, as also in reference to the im- 
mortality of the soul, in which, all admit, the later 
Jews thoroughly believed. Indeed, these great 
truths are in absolute contrast with their singular 
narrowness, bigotry, and fickleness, as a nation. 
But God was their King, and disciplined them 
into these high and immortal beliefs. At first 
trained as rude children, under a theocratic gov- 
ernment, saying little of the far distant and invis- 
ible future, yet clearly holding it in reserve, they 
were subjected to immediate reward and punish- 
ment. Quick, decisive, palpable, it came upon 
them in waving harvests and joyful prosperity, or 
in blighted crops and sweeping death. Obedience 
was the uniform rule, the clear and infallible test. 
The doctrine of immortality was safe enough un- 
der such a regimen. 

The grand defect of all other extant religious 
systems lay in their idolatrous and licentious 
spirit. God, or, if he was forgotten, the gods were 
15* 



174 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

materialized and degraded. Faith became fear, 
worship superstition, happiness pleasure, if not 
absolute lust.* Philosophy, too, even when it 
reached the idea of the great First Cause, reached 
it as a speculation which could not be taught to 
the people. If God was supposed to discover 
himself in the flesh, it was an incarnation, not of 
purity and love, but of simple power, or human 
wisdom ; nay, more, of brutal passion. Polytheism 
clung to the systems of the best thinkers, Atha- 
nagoras, Socrates, Plato, Plutarch. Even while 
admitting the existence of a Supreme Being, it 
was only as the source or creator of gods, demons, 
and men.f Sin was not understood, and the im- 
mortality of the soul, sometimes taught, but as 
often doubted, as Cicero, in Be Natura Deorum, 
over and over again informs us, was regarded sim- 
ply as the onward process in its eternal transmi- 
gration. Redemption was longed for, but never 
thoroughly understood, never truly realized. Sin 
was felt as a horrible discord, and a desire was 
cherished, by a few, for that divine life, that pure 

* Of all the gods of Greece and Rome, none were adored more 
sedulously than Venus. Lust was sanctioned by deification. The 
temples, in later times, were scenes of great impurity. 

f Plato declares that "no change" ought to be made in "any 
established religion," and he "who thinks of it must have lost his 
senses." — DeLegibus, v. Socrates gave it as a maxim, that ever}' 
one ought to follow the religion of his country.— Xenophon's Memor- 
abilia, lib. i. When charged with denying the gods adored by the pub- 
lic, he defended himself from it as from a crime. — Apologia, in 
Plato. 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 175 

and peaceful condition of the soul, which Plato 
describes as the deepest and most beautiful 
melody ; * but if some attained it, as charity 
may hope, alas! the great mass of the heathen 
did not even know what it was. 

Blood flowed from innumerable pagan altars, 
but it was a blind homage to the gods, or a sort 
of dumb, instinctive confession of guilt, not a 
reasonable and acceptable service, which exerted 
upon the heart any high moral influence. 

But among the pious Hebrews, with no phi- 
losophy, no literature, no arts, there existed a pro- 
found idea of the spirituality, eternity, justice, 
and compassion of God ; a longing for a true rev- 
elation of him in the coming Messiah, who should 
" restore all things ; " a definite conception of sin, 
as a wrong against God and man ; and a clear 
idea of redemption, through penitence and faith. 
By their sacrifices and ablutions, they confessed 
their guilt, acknowledged the great fact that life 
was forfeited by sin, and if restored, must be re- 
stored by another and higher life. Their sym- 
bolic ritual prefigured the one great sacrifice, Je- 
sus Christ, "whose blood," in other words, whose 
life, given for the redemption of the world, " cleans- 
eth from all sin." So they believed in God, in 
the soul, in immortality ; believed these things as 

* De Legibus, i. 3. 



176 CHRIST IN IIISTOIIY. 

divine and authoritative truths, believed them as 
practical and eternal realities ; and through Christ 
have given them to the world. Or rather, we 
ought to say, God, through them and the Mes- 
siah, who came from them, has given these truths 
to the world, for the enlightenment and salvation 
of all. 

For it came to pass in process of time, that 
while retaining the great outlines of truth, per- 
manently embodied in the Old Testament Scrip- 
tures, the Jews gradually lost the true spirit of 
their ancient faith. Their expected Messiah, 
described in the prophets as a spiritual Redeemer, 
came to be invested with temporal attributes, 
foreign to his nature and dispensation. He was 
still regarded as divine in his origin and resources, 
but this belief was carnalized, by the narrow con- 
ceptions and political longings of worldly hearts. 
Hence in the days of the Maccabees, and in the 
age just preceding the advent of Christ, they 
longed for the celestial and the divine, only that* 
the terrene and sensual might be consummated 
and enthroned. 

The sect of the Pharisees, derived from a word 
signifying purity or separation, which sprang into 
existence during the reign of the Asmonean 
kings, for the sake of maintaining the worship of 
God in its primitive integrity, grew proud and 
ambitious, and finally controlled the nation*. It 



THE CENTRAL RACE. 177 

was only about sixty years before Christ that the 
brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus made war 
upon each other for the priesthood, to which 
was attached the royal dignity. This was the 
fatal moment when commenced the downfall of 
the Jewish nation. From that resulted the in- 
terference of Pompey in the affairs of Syria ; and 
Judea fell under the control of the Romans. 
Through their influence the sovereignty of the 
land passed out of the hands of the native princes, 
and fell into those of Herod, a stranger and an 
Idumean. Under his powerful and cruel domin- 
ion every thing was changed. The temple in- 
deed was rebuilt, with considerable splendor ; but 
the principles and usages of Judaism were fatally 
marred. Restive and unhappy, hating the usurper, 
and longing for freedom, the nation was com- 
pelled to be the slave of Herod, while Herod him- 
self was the slave of Rome. 

It was then that the great body of the people, 
especially the Pharisees, longed, with deeper in- 
tensity than ever, for the coming of the Messiah ; 
but it was a Messiah fierce and conquering, who 
might destroy their enemies, and crown them 
with earthly glory. Whence we conclude that 
it was only by a true incarnation, a divine and 
supernatural process, that Jehovah, through such 
a people, could bring salvation to the world. The 
morning must come from the bosom of night; 



178 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

life itself must spring from the silence of the grave. 
In fine, God, as of old, must say, Let there be 
light! and the morning stars shall sing together, 
and all the sons of God shout for joy.* 

* Those who desire further information on the topics embraced in 
the two preceding chapters are referred to Dean Prideaux, Connec- 
tion of the Old and New Testament, though this work is liable to 
some slight critical abatements ; Dr. VV. Alexander's (Edinburgh, 
Scotland) Congregational Lectures on the same subject; Faber, G. 
S., Treatise on the Genius and Object of the Pat., the Levit., and 
the Christian Dispensations ; J. P. Smith's Scripture Testimony to 
the Messiah ; Hengstenberg's Christologie ; Jahn's Hebrew Com- 
monwealth ; Jahn's Bib. Archaeology ; Knobel, Aug., Prophetismus 
der Hebraer. Vollstcindig Dargestellt ; Bahr, K. Ch. W. F., Synibolik 
des Mosaischen Cultus ; Barnes's Commentary on the Book of Job ; 
Pareau on the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul, as taught 
in the Book of Job. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE FULNESS OF TIME. 

History is like a river, or like a number of 
confluent streams, proceeding from some high 
table land, or lofty mountain range, rushing 
through the plains beneath, now diverging, then 
again approaching, finally flowing together in 
some common channel, and by a single mouth 
or mouths falling into the sea. One great prin- 
ciple or law governs the whole. All the streams 
tend one way, all find themselves, at last, in the 
ocean. Thus, from some common origin in the 
depths of Asia, we find mankind diverging into 
various communities and peoples, long separated 
from each other, then mingled together, by means 
of war, commerce, literature, religion, and other 
causes, evermore tending in one direction, and 
passing on to some common destiny. The hand 
of God presides over the rushing millions, evolv- 
ing grand and benignant purposes, preparing 
the world for new eras and revolutions, and 
above all for the peaceful and eternal reign 
of the Messiah. Thus history has two as- 
pects, the one superficial and gloomy, like a 

(179) 



180 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

sea vexed with storms, the other clear and calm 
like the same sea in its profounder depths. It 
has two movements, the one temporary and tu- 
multuous, setting in towards time, the other per- 
manent and majestic, setting in towards eternity. 
Hence we find the ancient nations brought 
together, revolutionized, thrown into new shapes 
and positions, or utterly extinguished in the 
process of human civilization. But amid all 
changes, there is an onward movement. Truth 
is preserved among men, and in the lapse of 
ages, discovered in greater beauty, comprehen- 
siveness, and power. Religion, like a deeper life, 
having its sources in the infinite, advances to 
its goal, now apparently lost amid the heav- 
ing surges of human passion, then again reap- 
pearing with greater force, and evidently moving, 
with the progress of events, to some august con- 
summation. So also the chosen people, with 
whom it is mainly deposited, are preserved and 
pushed forward, in connection with the truth, to 
the same final issue. Dynasties rise and fall 
with reference to this alone. It weaves itself, 
like a supernatural agency, which it really is, in 
all their affairs, and when these have served its 
purposes, it leaves them for a new, and perhaps 
wider career with others. Thus God used the 
old Assyrians to punish his people, and convey 
his truth into the remoter Oriental world : so 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 181 

that even in the courts of Nineveh and Babylon 
he had witnesses for the truth ; he used the 
Persians to provide them a congenial home, to 
restore them to their native land, to rebuild the 
temple and reestablish their ancient worship ; 
he compelled Alexander of Macedon and his 
early successors, both in Syria and Egypt, to 
protect them ; he permitted Antiochus Epiph- 
anes, by bloody persecution, to try their faith 
and test their devotion ; but he put " a hook in 
his nose," and said, " Thus far shalt thou come, 
and no farther; " finally, he brought the Romans 
to enslave them, yet, by this very means, to 
maintain, within certain limits, their national 
integrity, and above all to save them from the 
vengeance of the kings of Syria, who longed 
for their destruction. By these and similar 
means he not only preserved them in the land 
of Palestine, with their inspired books, sacred 
places, and Messianic hopes, but he scattered 
them also through the civilized world, in Rome, 
Greece, Egypt, Arabia, Syria, Babylon, and 
even India, into which places they carried their 
peculiar principles and expectations ; so that 
great numbers of the heathen became their pros- 
elytes, and cherished, in form more or less per- 
fect, their peculiar hopes. 

How singularly, in its external aspects, not to 
speak of its interior forces, was the world pre- 
16 



182 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

pared for the establishment and propagation of 
Christianity ! 

It was a time of transition and convergence, 
such as the nations had never before seen. The 
old dynasties were subdued, and Rome was 
every where dominant. The languages of the 
most intelligent and aggressive civilizations, the 
Grecian and the Roman, spread with the ad- 
vance of their conquering armies. Greece her- 
self had fallen into decay, but her language, from 
a great variety of causes, had become almost 
cosmopolitan. It w T as spoken not only in its 
old native haunts, but throughout Asia Minor, 
and in many parts of Syria, especially in all the 
great centres of commerce and power, Rome, 
Damascus, Babylon, Jerusalem, Caesarea, Anti- 
och, and Alexandria. Thus the nations were 
brought together. Thus the streams of history 
were converging to some great issue. 

Indeed, that was a most peculiar and critical 
era, which closed, in some sense, the troubled 
drama of the ancient world, and prepared man- 
kind for a new order of things. 

The existing religions, and consequent civili- 
zations, all of which, with a single exception, 
embodied the element of idolatry, and what is 
worse, of selfishness and lust, had fallen into a 
state of dotage. Their old fiery heart ceased to 
beat. A strange torpor seized them all. Indeed, 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 183 

mankind, in consequence of their advancing intel- 
ligence, had outgrown their religions, while their 
morals were becoming more and more corrupt. 
The splendid visions of Grecian polytheism had 
long been tarnished. Olympus was deserted. Mag- 
nificent temples, beautiful poetry, exquisite statu- 
ary remained, but all earnest worship was lost. 
The whole was thoroughly penetrated by the spirit 
of doubt and lust. The stronger, but equally 
idolatrous faith of Rome gave signs of decay. 
Like the civil polity which it supported, it was 
tottering to its fall. Superstitions enough re- 
mained, but all profound and coherent faith, 
even in idolatry, was breaking to pieces, and 
vanishing away. The whole array of the priest- 
hood began to be contemned, nay, what is more 
significant, began to contemn themselves. Phi- 
losophers, who despised the vulgar notions, often 
spoke with contempt of superstition ; then again 
urged a more rational veneration of the popular 
divinities, but without the slightest success. 
The awe-struck imagination of the elder pagans, 
which prostrated itself in burning adoration be- 
fore the starry host, the sacred fire, or the 
Olympian Jove, could nowhere be found. Sac- 
rifices enough were offered, especially by the 
magistrates, but rather to appease the hunger of 
the populace than to attract the favor of the 
gods. Xenophon tells us that the common peo- 



184 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

pie regarded them only as a pleasant means of 
securing a good meal.* The festivals and cere- 
monies of religion were observed for amusement 
and pleasure. They did more to corrupt, than 
to preserve the morals of the people. 

A new era, in fact, was opening upon the 
world ; but what it was to be could scarcely be 
foretold, by reference to the existing state of 
things. For idolatry was replaced by scepticism, 
and scepticism resulted in anarchy and crime. 
Atheism, in its practical forms, was stealing into 
the halls of legislation, the cabinet of kings, and 
the closets of philosophers, and with it the most 
hideous crimes. " Darkness covered the earth, 
and gross darkness the people." Abominable 
usages and vices which we rarely name in this 
age of the world, polluted every pagan country, 
not as unfrequent and startling enormities, but 
as common every-day occurrences. Indeed, this 
taint always pervaded these countries, especially 
Greece and Egypt, and to some extent Rome ; 
for even Plato and Cicero, in their pages, refer 
familiarly, and by way of illustration, to one of 
the most detestable of these vices. Free them- 
selves from sensual indulgence, they speak of it, 
in such easy terms, as would indicate its exten- 
sive prevalence.! But now vices of this kind 

* In his Athen. Republican c. 2. 

f See, in the Phcedrus, the illustrations of love in its various forms. 
It is well known that both the Epicureans and Stoics allowed and 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 185 

had increased to an amazing extent. Occasion* 
ally checked by civil penalties, as in the case of 
the Bacchanals at Rome, they broke out again 
with fresh energy. Every where, also, slavery, 
in a form vastly worse than any thing in modern 
times, pervaded the Roman empire, and entailed 
upon all concerned the most fatal vices. Life 
was cheap, chastity still cheaper ; and a man, 
especially a patrician, might maim or murder his 
slaves with impunity. Amid much exterior re* 
finement, the greatest brutality of manners pre- 
vailed. Justice was sacrificed, in the terrible 
struggle of contending politicians, and the re- 
public, so long the boast and glory of Rome, 
ignominiously fell. The most astounding de- 
baucheries were mingled with the most terrible 
cruelties. 

Egypt, never distinguished for its morals, and 
Syria under wretched misgovernment, were sunk 
in venality and crime.* Greece was effeminate 

defended izaiSepaarta, as well as incest, reckoning these flagitious 
crimes among things (aSid<popa,) indifferent. The classical reader 
will remember Virgil's Corydon amabat Alexin, as well as Horace's 
numerous allusions to the same thing. Plutarch tells us that even 
Solon practised this monstrous crime. Diogenes Laertius says the 
same of the Stoic Zeno. 

* We learn from Rosellini, Wilkinson, Bunsen, and others, who 
have made Egyptian history a special study, that the Egyptians, 
while eminently skilled in many of the arts of life, were coarse and 
disgusting in their habits. Their very monuments furnish indispu- 
table evidence of their sensuality and cruelty. Their feasts end in 
" bestial excesses," on the part of both sexes. Gentlemen arc 

16* 



186 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and powerless, hungering, as of old, after pleas- 
ure, but without the redeeming force and ele- 
gance of former times. The great Roman heart, 
which swayed the world, grew gross and languid, 
under the dominion of cruelty and lust. The 
dream of heroic virtue and freedom had passed 
away. Despotism, unprincipled and capricious, 
ruled the nations. The morals even of those 
called sages, with few exceptions, were rank and 
bestial. The condition of the hungry masses, 
in the Roman empire, grew more and more in- 
tolerable. What may be termed the higher phi- 
losophy, not yet entirely abandoned by thought- 
ful men, here and there shone, like a vessel on 
fire amid the fury and darkness of a tempestuous 
night. At the best, it never reached the masses; 
and hence the doctrine of God and of the im- 
mortality of the soul, which lingered in books, 
and in the belief of a few lofty souls, left like 
rocks amid the tide of corruption, exerted upon 
the community no conceivable influence. Nay, 
this higher philosophy, at the time of which we 
are speaking, was itself becoming sceptical and 
lew T d. The reign of Epicureanism was all but 
complete. A few philosophical spirits, like Cicero 
in Rome, or Philo in Alexandria, admired Plato, 

carried home in a state of insensibility, and even ladies give token of 
their preceding intemperance. All know how licentious was the 
worship of Isis. 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 187 

and caught something of his generous spirit 
Remains of the Chaldean Magi, descendants of 
those associated with Daniel, devoted themselves 
to devout contemplation. But the majority, even 
of thinkers, throughout the bounds of the civil- 
ized world, including Rome and Greece, por- 
tions of Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, were the 
followers of a sensual or sceptical materialism. 
The better portion were Academics, whose dis- 
tinguishing feature, at this time, was a spirit of 
universal doubt. While rejecting the grosser 
materialism, and in some cases living a virtuous 
life, they held themselves aloof from all fixed 
opinions on the higher metaphysics.* The supe- 
rior orders of society were distinguished only by 
an intenser corruption. Their motto was, " Let 
us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." Even 
their females had often to be put to death secretly 
for their crimes. The old Lucretian chastity 
was lost. Once distinguished for their purity* 
of manners, the gentler sex were corrupted by the 
coarse and sensual indulgences, which, with 
foreign religions, and abounding luxury, had 

* We learn from Sallust, in Catilina, c. 57, p. 309, that Julius 
Ceesar made no scruple in denying before the people that man had 
any thing to hope or fear after death ; and even Cato, the stoic 
philosopher, in this applauded his noble philosophical spirit. Cicero 
informs us (De Inventioixe, lib. i. c. 29,) that the majority of the 
philosophers of his day were considered the enemies of the gods and 
religion. 



188 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

infected Rome. Divorce and consequent licen- 
tiousness of manners were excessively prevalent, 
especially among the higher classes. Cato the 
Censor made desperate, but vain efforts to re- 
store the ancient simplicity of manners, and 
check the progress of national demoralization. 
The senate, once the pride of Rome, on account 
of its stern integrity, was tainted with crime. 
Rome, indeed, even in her palmiest days, was 
relentless and cruel. But the gladiatorial exhi- 
bitions, of which even delicate females were 
passionately fond, grew more and more bloody. 
Whole hecatombs of men were sacrificed, under 
the eyes of pleasure-loving crowds. The young 
patrician beauty, languishing on purple couches, 
" by a sign of her jewelled finger," condemned 
the poor gladiator to die, to amuse herself with 
the sight of his expiring agonies. The banquets 
of the wealthy were scenes of debauchery. As 
the luxurious Egyptians placed a real skeleton at 
their feasts, to whet the appetites of the guests, 
and deepen the pleasure of the passing hour, so 
the Greek and Roman epicures, on festive days, 
placed upon their tables, at their orgies, fit em- 
blem of intellectual and moral despair, the skel- 
eton of ivory or silver, as a memento of the 
rapidity of life, and the duty of "quick and un- 
limited enjoyment." So much was despair the 
fashion of the times, that even Stoicism, the only 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 189 

moral strength of this period, was much less an 
heroic struggle than a mournful resignation.* 

The very poets, rising occasionally in the 
olden time to the character of prophets, laughed 
to scorn, not merely the mythologies of bygone 
times, but the doctrines of the existence of God, 
and the immortality of the soul. The sublimest 
of them all, Lucretius, born ninety-five years before 
Christ, was an atheist, and his spirit only repre- 
sents the spirit of the age in which he lived,f 
Virgil has no moral character. Horace is gay 
and licentious. Lucian among the Greeks, and 
Persius and Juvenal among the Latins, some- 
what later, joke and sneer, as, perhaps, was 
natural in their circumstances, at all things, 
sacred and profane. In some of these writers 
the reader will find the most detestable affections 
treated with much detail, as things of daily 
practice, both among the vulgar and the refined. 
The temples themselves were not free from pol- 
lution ; from which circumstance Ovid takes 
occasion to advise those females who would 
preserve their honor not to visit such places. In 
*he city of Rome, according to Valerius Maxi- 

* For an account of the private manners of the Greeks and Ro- 
mans see Bekker's Charicles and Gallus. See also Pericles, by one 
of the authors of Small Books on Great Subjects. 

f The ancients intimate that Lucretius was somewhat insane, 
(they say from a love philter,) and that he wrote his work undei 
this influence. He committed suicide in his forty -fourth year. 



190 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

mus, there were seven thousand Bacchanals, 
among whose mysteries prostitution and murder 
found a prominent place. Opposed by the gov- 
ernment, and partially suppressed, they were 
never wholly banished from the city. Crimes 
without a name continued to be enacted in their 
secret orgies. A very few moralists, chiefly 
Stoics, said fine things on the subject of virtue, 
but could offer no resistless motives to enforce 
it. The tide of popular corruption swept on- 
ward, in spite of their subtile theories and fine- 
spun imaginings. Their attempts at reform 
were spider webs to bind Leviathan, straws to 
stem the currents of the ocean. The later soph- 
ists and rhetoricians, a heartless and infidel race, 
controlled the popular will, and gave law to so- 
ciety. In a word, " the foundations were de- 
stroyed." Old things were passing away. Night 
and chaos were enveloping the moral world. 

If any one should call this declamation, or 
incline to think our picture too deeply colored, 
let him read attentively the pages of Lucian and 
Juvenal, or let him visit, as we have done, the 
disintombed Cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, 
and especially the Bourbon Museum, at Naples, 
in which are preserved, for the private inspection 
of scientific gentlemen, some of the most secret 
ornaments, sculptures, and paintings, found both 
in private houses and in the temples of the gods. 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 19 i 

and he will be satisfied that our statements are 
literally correct. Indeed, persons not familiar 
with the subject have no idea of the extreme 
corruption of manners, which polluted the most 
polished of the ancient nations. The revolution 
effected by Christianity, in this respect, is im- 
mense. Imperfect as it still is, owing to partial 
development, the change is one of the most 
striking and benignant in the history of man.* 

* The following, from a source not usually suspected of over- 
statement on such matters, will corroborate this : " While religious 
scepticism was thus in the ascendant, morality, public and private, 
had reached its lowest landmark. Those incitements to vice, of 
which our laws prohibit even the sale, were, as Juvenal assures us in 
a satire (Sat. ii., near the commencement) specially levelled 
against the sensualism of the period, publicly paraded in every 
street, and filled the infant mind with impressions that stifled the 
development of its moral nature. The only part of their mythology 
for which the people seemed to have any relish, was that which ad- 
ministered to the passions, so easily excited ; and the only temples 
that could command a crowd were those of Flora and the Bona Dea. 
At the festivals of those deities, before the Roman day had sunk to 
its shortlived twilight, crowds, not only of courtesans, but of or- 
derly matrons, might be seen wending their way to the shrines of 
these goddesses in the Via Sac?°a, not simply with unveiled breasts, 
or with bodies negligently exposed, but in an absolute state of 
nudity. In the spacious and magnificent baths which the prodigality 
of successive emperors had reared in the imperial city, both sexes 
were indulged, at the vile price of a farthing, in promiscuous bath- 
ing. In the crowded theatres, when the first scenes of the play had 
been acted, and the minds of the auditors were inflamed with ob- 
scene verses, a sea of voices usually called out, Nudentur mimce, 
and the order was no sooner issued than obeyed. — Valerius Maxi- 
mas, lib. ii. c. 5. Obscenities far more polluting than any to be seen 
in the worst penny theatre that attracts the dregs of our London 
population, were enacted in the Flavian amphitheatre for the amuse- 



102 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Externally, however, the condition of the 
nations, at the time of which we are speaking, 
was favorable to the establishment of a new 
system both of religion and civilization. The 
larger portion of the known world was occupied 
by a single empire, in whose bosom elements of 
change and dissolution were at work. From 
beyond the Pillars of Hercules to the Caspian 
Sea, sweeping through the forests of Germany 
on the one side, and the sands of the Libyan 
desert on the other, about a hundred and fifty 
millions of persons, of diversified climate and 
character, were consolidated into one vast com- 
monwealth. Diverging from the city of Rome, 
which might be called the metropolis of the 
world, magnificent roads stretched in every di- 
rection, connecting, by social and commercial 
ties, distant and flourishing cities. The old 
separate kingdoms, most of them immobile and 
stationary, governed by caste, and opposed to 
progress, which once occupied this vast area, 
were broken up, and a political brotherhood was 

ment of the emperor and the highest ranks of Rome ; and crimes at 
which we now shudder, as unnatural, cleave to the greatest names of 
that epoch. Vice had attacked the foyers of society* and families 
were expiring so fast that a premium was offered to the man toho 
shoidd transmit a legitimate offspring to posterity. Human kind was 
gradually dying out, and if the process of dissolution had continued 
unchecked by the infusion of a purer blood and a chaster creed, 
the race must have become extinct." — Martial and his Times. 
Westminster Review. 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 193 

established throughout the bounds of the civilized 
world. It was a colossal power, appearing to 
grasp and control the whole destiny of man. 
But it had long passed its meridian. The prev- 
alent civilization, based upon idolatry, polygamy, 
and slavery, was about to find its issue. Inter- 
nal, ever-augmenting corruption was gradually 
working its overthrow. Evidently the hand of 
God, through natural agencies, seemed to be 
preparing the way for some vast and glorious 
change, or for some deep and universal catas- 
trophe. 

The condition of the Jewish people, at this 
time, differed little from that of the neighboring 
nations, except in their hatred of idolatry, their 
contempt of all other people, and their hope of a 
conquering Messiah. The vital energy of their 
ancient faith had given place to formalism and 
superstition. For a hundred and fifty years 
before the birth of Christ, their Mishna, in 
which were embodied "the traditions of the 
elders," had been growing in their esteem.* By 
this they made void the law of God, now all but 
obsolete. Hence their division into sects, the 
Pharisees and the Sadducees, the one clinging 
to traditions, the other rejecting them. The 
Pharisees, however, were by far the most power- 

* The Mishna was the title given to the collection of traditions 
made by Rabbi Judah Hakkadosh, about B. C. 150. 

17 



194 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

ful party in the state, both in religion and politics, 
Ambitious and intriguing, they controlled the 
popular will, and inflamed it with their bigotries. 
Hence they yielded reluctant obedience to the 
ruling monarch, Herod the Idumean, whose 
ambitious and selfish character is well known. 
The Sadducees, as much distinguished for their 
national pride and intolerance of foreigners, 
were equally disaffected to the government of 
Herod, and longed to be delivered from w r hat 
they deemed a degrading servitude. The nation, 
therefore, was ripe for rebellion and political 
change. 

In these circumstances, the religion of their 
fathers, yet revered as a form, had become cold 
and sterile, a mere engine of political strife. 
Long had the Shekinah departed from the tem- 
ple. The voice of its oracles was dumb. More 
free from the tendency to idolatry than in ancient 
times, and preserved untarnished in the ancient 
books, Judaism had lost all regenerative force. 
The spirit of prophecy was extinct. No holy 
seers predicted the glories of the Messiah's reign, 
or denounced the judgments of God against the 
workers of iniquity. No Deborah sang under 
the palm tree, between Ramah and Bethel. No 
Ezekiel thundered between the porch and the 
altar. The word indeed remained ; bt*t, it was 
a dead letter to the great body of the people. 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 195 

The formalism of the Pharisee on the one hand ; 
and the scepticism of the Sadducee on the 
other, paralyzed all pure and earnest feeling. 
The people, subjected to the galling oppression 
of a foreign yoke, were 'discontented and furious. 
Unheard-of atrocities, which easily account for 
the subsequent " murder of the innocents," no 
more strange or monstrous than some of his 
other crimes, had been perpetrated in the family 
of the elder Herod, whose days of mingled 
splendor and crime were about to close, in horror 
and blood. 

In addition to this, infidel and pagan notions, 
introduced through the influence of the court, 
began to prevail in some portions of Judea, par- 
ticularly in Caesarea, the Roman capital of the 
country ; while the mass of the people, especially 
in the larger cities, were intoxicated with a sav- 
age fanaticism. Hence the origin of the sect or 
clique, as it may be called, of the Herodians, who 
saw no harm in mingling the rites of heathenism 
with the pure ceremonial of their own worship, and 
whose cringing sycophancy and easy submission 
to a foreign yoke excited the disgust of their coun- 
trymen. Some holy hearts, here and there, in the 
temple and among the mountains, consecrated by 
the memories of the past, brooded over the prophe- 
cies, and longed for the reign of God upon the 



19C CHRIST IN HISTOKY. 

earth. The Essenes, the anchorites and mystics 
of the Jewish faith, were distinguished for their 
simplicity of manners ; but they lived in seclusion, 
and took no part in public affairs. Separating 
themselves from their fellow-men as unclean, and 
making no attempt at the reformation of others, 
they shut themselves up, in the profound solitudes 
adjoining the shores of the Dead Sea. The same 
may be said of their brethren, the Therapeutae, 
in Egypt, yet more distinguished for their mystic 
and ascetic habits. 

But the great body of the people were ignorant 
and superstitious ; and though free from idolatry, 
narrow and sensual in their feelings. They cher- 
ished, indeed, the hope of a Messiah, but so min- 
gled with selfish and fanatical views, that it rather 
exasperated than soothed their passions. 

There prevailed, also, at this period, even in 
the Roman world, a wide-spread expectation of 
some august revolution, to be achieved by the 
sudden appearance of a mighty and mysterious 
personage. This dim idea was floating about 
not only in Syria, but in Rome, in Egypt, and 
Babylon. So familiar had it become, that it at- 
tracted the attention of the Roman poets and phi- 
losophers. Virgil is supposed to refer to it. 
" Among many/' writes Tacitus, " there was a 
persuasion that in the ancient books of the priest- 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 197 

hood, it was written, that at that precise time the 
East should become mighty, and that the sover- 
eigns of the world should issue from Judea." * 
" In the East," says Suetonius, " an ancient and 
consistent opinion prevailed, that it was fated 
there should issue at this time those who should 
obtain universal dominion." f This general ex- 
pectation is to be traced, doubtless, to the predic- 
tions of the Hebrew prophets. Daniel's " weeks 
of years " were supposed to be on the point of 
expiring. The sceptre, in some sense, had " de- 
parted from Judah," and therefore the Shiloh, or 
the Peacemaker, was about to come. What he 
was to be, few indeed understood. The views of 
his character and mission were modified by the 
dispositions of those who cherished them. Jose- 
phus, a shrewd, selfish man, false to the hopes of 
his nation, false even to the principles of honor, 
subsequently pretended to recognize him in the 
person of the Emperor Vespasian ! Some ex- 
pected a mighty King, a half divine, half human 
conqueror ; others, but a comparatively small 
number, a great Moral Reformer or Spiritual Re- 
deemer ; and fewer still, the Son of God, the Sa- 
vior of the world. But the majority of the na- 

* In the language of Tacitus, the East means Syria. — History. 
v. 13. 

f Suetonius, Ves. p. 4. 

17* 



198 CHRIST m HISTORY. 

tion looked only for a temporal deliverer, his foot- 
step* tracked with blood, and his long reign of 
earthly power and splendor encircling the globe. 

Hence the general state of the Jews, though 
favorable enough to political change, was quite 
unfavorable to the reception and acknowledgment 
of a spiritual Messiah, whose peaceful reign 
should be that only of righteousness and love. 
Carnal and besotted, they were more likely to 
crush than to honor the Son of God. 

What mankind every where needed, was a di- 
vine transformation, a complete spiritual and in- 
terior revolution in the domain of religion and 
morals ; a regeneration, in fact, of the heart and 
the life of individuals and families ; and that con- 
sequent political transformation, on the basis of 
which, might spring up a new and more perfect 
form of civilization. But the idea had not even 
dawned upon the Grecian or the Roman mind, 
and though clearly predicted in the Old Testa- 
ment Scriptures, was utterly lost sight of by the 
Jewish people. 

Indeed, taking the world as a whole, it was a 
dark and godless era. The race, as if abandoned 
by Heaven, staggered like a crazy vessel amid 
the gathering storm, and seemed on the point of 
being forever ingulfed. 

Yet there were watchers on the hills of Pales* 



THE FULNESS OF TIME. 199 

tine, and far oft', even in the depths of the Orient, 
wise and good men were longing for the coming 
of the Deliverer. Long years had they brooded 
over the prophecies, and like Simeon and Anna, 
hoped to see the Messiah before closing their 
eyes in death. But all was still in the heavens 
above. A deep and portentous gloom, unrelieved 
by a single star, brooded over the w r orld. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE ADVENT. 

We can easily imagine the sceptic, at the, era 
referred to in the preceding chapter, pouring infi- 
nite scorn on the predictions of the Messiah's 
reign, saying, Where is the promise of his com- 
ing ? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things 
continue as they were from the foundation of the 
world. The course of nature moves on as usual ; 
the sun rises and sets, the stars circle in the heav- 
ens, spring, summer, and autumn come and go, 
by an unvarying law. Divine advents are no 
more. Miracles are a legend of the darker ages. 
The season of faith in the supernatural is passed. 
A religion other than instinct, or nature, is but 
the dream of sick-brained enthusiasm. Prayer is 
folly and presumption. The creation of the 
world as a work of time, the first Eden, the fall 
of man, the flood, the call of Abraham, the exode 
from Egypt, the pillar of cloud by day and of fire 
by night, the passage of the Red Sea, the giving 
of the law from Sinai, divine revelations through 
Moses and Isaiah, inspiration, miracles, and won- 
ders, are simple myths, or traditionary legends. 

(200) 



THE ADVENT. 201 

in which a few grains of truth are mingled and 
preserved in a huge mass of error. But the time 
for believing such things is gone by. This is the 
eighth century from the foundation of Rome. 
The age is too enlightened to be caught by fic- 
tions. And as for a new and special revelation, 
of a grander and purer character than has ever 
been dreamed of by saint or sage, and above all, 
the advent from the spirit world of a divine mes- 
senger, whose kingdom is to be coeval with time, 
and spread over the globe, reason must pronounce 
it the most absurd chimera! 

Yes! nature moved on as usual ; and no sign or 
promise of the new order of things so long ex- 
pected, and so much needed, was visible in the 
earth or sky. Mankind were eating and drinking, 
sinning and suffering, as usual. Millions were 
rushing after vanity, and the weary nations were 
sinking into deeper and still deeper night. 

But as nature is often silent, says Tholuck, 
before the bursting forth of some grand or fearful 
change, which is to affect, for weal or for woe, the 
destiny of thousands, and as such change is of- 
ten like the sudden protrusion of a hand from the 
dark, or a flash of lightning at midnight, so now, 
the fulness of the times being come, Jesus was 
born into the world — in a humble town, in the 
hush of night — among strangers who cared noth- 
ing for the event — in a condition of lowliness 



202 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and poverty peculiarly striking — and without 
any general and imposing demonstrations. And 
why ? Simply because he was to be a spiritual 
Teacher, a divine Redeemer, whose " still small 
voice " of love and mercy was gently but irresist- 
ibly to penetrate the human heart, and transform 
it into the divine image. 

Natural, for it was only a birth ; supernatural, 
for it was the birth of the Divine among men. 
Natural, for he seemed to glide into the race, as 
a new star glides into the heavens ; supernatural, 
for a higher form of gravitation in the spiritual 
sphere began to act upon society, fitted to change 
and modify it forever. Natural, for no laws were 
counteracted or suspended ; supernatural, for a 
deeper and more comprehensive law controlled 
them all. Indeed, it may be said, that in the 
unity of a higher and more comprehensive law, 
the natural and supernatural are one — a fact of 
which the incarnation is a proof and illustration. 

Little is recorded of this unostentatious but 
august event. It was proclaimed, as has been 
often said, not in the streets of Jerusalem, or the 
purlieus of the temple, but in the quiet scenes of 
the country ; not to the Sanhedrim of the Jewish 
nation, nor to the priesthood in solemn conclave, 
but to a few pious shepherds, as they watched 
their flocks by night on the plains of Bethlehem. 

In all this we discern much of divine wisdom 



THE ADVENT. 203 

God, in creating and blessing, is not so much in 
the " whirlwind and the storm," as in "the still 
small voice." His mightiest changes are achieved 
by invisible, and apparently trivial means. He 
works not at the surface, but at the centre ; not 
by mechanism, but by spirit. He comes rather 
in the solitude and silence of night, like the dew 
beneath the stars, than in the glare and tumult 
of day. In this respect he reverses all the ex- 
pectations of man. " Without observation," like 
his own reign of purity and love, he accomplishes 
the designs of his grace. Not with the might of 
kings, or the tread of armies, but with the quiet 
majesty, the still, but resistless force of supreme 
and all-pervading will. He taketh "the weak 
things of the world to confound the mighty, and 
things that are not to bring to nought things that 
are, that no flesh may glory in his presence." 
Evermore he magnifies purity and love over might 
and display. 

Moreover, the incarnation of Jesus Christ was a 
veiling rather than a revealing of absolute power. 
Indeed, every embodiment or manifestation of 
God must possess this character. Properly speak- 
ing, the heaven of heavens cannot contain him ; 
the entire visible creation, in magnitude, bears no 
conceivable relation to his infinity. " In all," he 
is yet " above all," transcendent and ineffable. 
Further, it was love, rather than absolute or phys- 



204 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

ical might, which assumed the human form.* By 
anew and peculiar manifestation, " grace and 
truth " were to be discovered as the greatest pow- 
ers in the universe. Enthroned by the death of 
the Son of God, they were to be proved resist- 
less and eternal. It was meet, therefore, that in 
lowliness and poverty the birth of Christ should 
correspond with his death, the beginning with 
the end of his earthly career. 

Indeed, we cannot judge correctly of the dig- 
nity or magnitude of any event, and especially 
of the glory of any divine manifestation, by its 
external aspects, or its immediate effects and 
accompaniments. Its spiritual relations and 
future results are the measure of its importance. 
If it link itself with the affections and destinies 
of unborn generations, turn the whole tide of 
human affairs, and pass on in ever-deepening and 
widening currents of influence, it proves itself 
worthy of the infinite mind. Men, it is true, 
from the narrowness and meagreness of their 
views, are more powerfully affected by brilliant 
and imposing demonstrations; it would seem 
natural to them, when the Divinity comes visibly 
to earth, that the heavens should bow, and the 
earth tremble to its centre. But how different 



* We use the term absolute or physical here as equivalent to what 
is sometimes called natural, in distinction from moral, though both 
terms are imperfect and inadequate. 



THE ADVENT. 205 



the reality, and, when duly considered, how 
much more affecting and beautiful ! 

" Thou wast born of woman ; thou didst come, 
Holiest, to this world of sin and gloom, 
Not in thy dread, omnipotent array ; 
And not by thunder strewed 
Was thy tempestuous road, 
Nor indignation burned before thee on thy way. 
But thee a soft and naked child, . 
Thy mother undefiled, 
In the rude manger laid to rest, 
From off her virgin breast. 

" The heavens were not commanded to prepare 
A gorgeous canopy of golden air ; 
Nor stooped their lamps the enthroned fires on high. 

A single, silent star 

Came wandering from afar, 
Gliding unchecked and calm along the liquid sky ; 
The eastern sages leading on 
As at a kingly throne, 
To lay their odors sweet 
Before thy infant feet." * 



Thus, too, was fulfilled the ancient prediction, 
"Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given ; 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder; 
and he shall be called Wonderful" 



* Milman has given, in beautiful form, the general aspect of this 
event; but we are not to fcrget what, perhaps, he has overlooked, 
that " suddenly there was with the angel a multitude" more than 
"a single choir" of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 
" Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will to men." 

18 



206 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

There was a profound spiritual significance in 
the fact that Jesus should be " born of a virgin," 
for then would it be seen that he was " the Holy 
One of God." The unstained innocence of the 
mother, her serene beauty and gentleness of 
character, and the entire separation of Christ, by 
means of his supernatural birth, from the corrupt- 
ed mass of humanity, would form a peculiar 
attraction for all pure minds. Then, also, would 
it be understood by the world that he u came 
forth from God," the immaculate incarnation of 
righteousness and love. It was meet, also, that 
the advent of the Redeemer should be a sacred 
mystery, around which the affections of his fol- 
lowers should linger with delight and awe. This 
feeling, indeed, has been exaggerated and vitiated 
both by the Greek and Roman churches ; but it 
is a natural feeling, and not only so, but pro- 
ductive of the best results. 

For how could Christ come into the world as 
one of the race, except by a birth ? and how 
could he be recognized as the Divine, except by 
an immaculate birth? "That holy thing that 
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of 
God." On this account, there is something 
inexpressibly touching in the thought expressed 



THE ADVENT. 207 

by Wordsworth, that in the virgin mother were 
"blended and reconciled" those singular but 
beautiful contrasts — 

" Of mother's love and maiden purity, 
Of high and low, celestial with terrene." * 

Rude minds have wondered that "the Highest" 
was born of woman, especially that the Godhead 
was enshrined in the person of a child. But more 
thoughtful and spiritual minds have discerned, in 
this very thing, a meaning and design which 
awaken their profoundest awe. They cannot 
allow that mechanical greatness, or material ex- 
pansion, though of suns and systems innumer- 
able, have aught in them akin to the nature of 
God, or that adventitious circumstances, however 
grand and imposing, can add any thing to his 
infinite excellence ! Indeed, they look beyond 
all the depths of the starry heavens, and all the 
immensities of the visible creation, to find his 
indivisible essence, and his boundless majesty. 
Not physical grandeur, or mechanic force, but 
spirituality, purity, love, infinite and unutterable, 



* The nations could never imagine how the Divine should come 
into the world, and live itself into our historic existence, except by 
an incarnation, and that too from a pure virgin. Budh, Hercules, 
Zoroaster, Confucius, and others, considered divine men, were sup- 
posed to have virgin mothers, — a fiction obvious enough, but a 
natural one, so natural that the fact, or reality, when it does come, 
corresponds to it. 



208 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

constitute their idea of his glory. Hence they 
can adore the indwelling and manifestation of 
that glory, as well in the person of " the holy 
Child," as in all the magnificence of the universe ! 
God is a Spirit! God is love! And since man, 
in his unstained innocence, was made in the 
image of God, no fitter temple of the Deity can 
be found than that of a sinless Messiah. 

The true tabernacle of God is not so much 
nature as man ; not indeed man fallen, but man 
redeemed, or rather man the Redeemer. " Man," 
says the celebrated Jean Paul Richter, in one of 
his transcendent flights, where he touches on the 
very borders of the infinite, " man is the Isis-veil 
of the Divinity." " Ye are the temple of the liv- 
ing God," is the clearer, more appropriate lan- 
guage of St. Paul. So that we may well affirm 
that God is closer to man than most of us 
imagine. 

It will be admitted, we think, by all, that man 
is greater than the whole material or visible uni- 
verse ; and yet God is in the latter, by a special 
presence and manifestation. Here we behold his 
glory. How much more intimately present may 
God be in man, who is matter and spirit at once, 
and thus the fittest vehicle for the divine mani- 
festation. " All religion," according to an erratic 
but vigorous thinker, " stands upon this ; not 
paganism only, but far higher and truer religions, 



THE ADVENT. 209 

all religions hitherto known." Hence he says, 
" Hero-worship, heartfelt, burning, boundless, for 
a noblest, godlike form of Man, is it not the germ 
of Christianity itself?" To which he adds, 
" The greatest of all heroes is one whom I do 
not name here." * 

This testimony is important; it is an echo of 
the deepest truth. The apparent pantheism 
upon which it is founded, may be regretted ; 
but pantheism, in its better sense, that is, the 
idea of God in all thing 'S, as their Creator and 
Lord, and especially in man, as his highest and 
holiest temple, we maintain, on the plainest 
scriptural authority. God is " all and in all ; " 
not, however, as a simple, all-comprehending 
force, or law, but as a personal agent, " in whom 
are all things, and by whom are all things." So 
that the great fact of Christianity, the incarnation 
of God in the man Jesus Christ, is a truth the 
most rational and conceivable. Even those who 
doubt historical Christianity — Hegel, Strauss, 
Carlyle, Parker — confess the fitness of Christ, 
simply as a form, for the indwelling and mani- 
festation of the Deity. Indeed, an ideal or per- 
fect man, from Plato downwards, has been the 
fascination of the world, the desire of all nations ; 
especially a godlike man, a son of God, a deliv- 
erer, in whom should be found blended all per- 

* Hero -Worship, p. 13. 

18* 



210 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

fection with all gentleness and love ; nay, more, 
a divine man, a true Prometheus or Apollo, in 
whose hands nature and his fellows should be 
pliant as clay in the hands of the potter, has been 
the longing of poetry and religion, even among 
the heathen. This, in a still higher form, was 
the polar star of the Jewish mind. Moses and 
Isaiah, as well as the Talmudists, alike magnify 
this mightier Prophet — this super-angelic Logos, 
or Revealer — this divine Metraton, or Reconciler 
of God and man. It seems to us, indeed, that 
every heart, beating true to nature and its higher 
instincts, must long for it. Dissatisfied with all 
common men ; dissatisfied with all heroes, even 
with the kingly spirits of history, — for in beauty, 
worth, and power we can always conceive some- 
thing beyond them ; — nay, more, dissatisfied with 
angels, whether the angels of the Bible, of Dante, 
or of Milton, august and lovely as they seem, we 
are still yearning for the perfection of man ; that 
is, man sinless, infinite, immortal. It seems 
an anomaly, an impossibility, a contradiction in 
terms ; but we are made for it, as we are made 
for God and glory. 

Some of those who reject the supernatural 
element in the Bible, and look upon the gospel 
as a figment or myth of a darker age, sometimes 
betray the instinct to which we refer; and, while 
rejecting a divine Redeemer, describe just such 



THE ADVENT. 211 

a being as "the want" of the world. Emerson, 
for example, who, in his transcendental gyrations, 
has long ago left Christianity behind him, thus 
describes what he calls "the old want:" " There 
is no man ; there hath never been. The intellect 
still asks that a man may be born. The flame of 
life flickers feebly in human breasts. We demand 
of men a richness and universality we do not find. 
Great men do not content us. It is their solitude, 
not their force, that makes them conspicuous. 
There is somewhat indigent and tedious about 
them. They are poorly tied to one thought. If 
they are prophets, they are egotists ; if polite and 
various, they are shallow. How tardily men ar- 
rive at any result ? . . . Thus a man lasts 
but a very little while, for his monomania" [that 
he has the secret of the universe] " lasts but a 
very little while. It is so with every book and 
person; and yet — and yet — we do not take up 
a new book, or meet a new man, without a pulse- 
beat of expectation. And this invincible hope of 
a more adequate interpreter, is the sure prediction 
of his advent. 

" We no longer hold it [nature] by the hand ; 
we have lost our miraculous power; our arm is 
no more strong as the frost, nor our will equivalent 
to gravity and the elective attractions." * 

* The Method of Nature. Addresses and Lectures, pp. 187-189. 



212 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

What does this imaginative, half pagan poet 
or philosopher want? Turning away from Him 
whom he acknowledges, in one place, as " the 
true prophet of nature, 5 ' who, with "open vis- 
ion," looked upon " its secret," and called him- 
self " divine," he yet longs for a perfect godlike 
man, under whose hands nature shall be plastic 
as wax ; whose movements shall be miracles ; 
whose powers shall equal the elective and attrac- 
tive forces; whose great heart, of such "richness 
and universality," shall comprehend and control 
all other hearts. 

Such a man we find in Jesus Christ, whose 
advent into the world as a sinless child, we have 
briefly described. Beyond him nothing can be 
conceived, nothing can be desired. 

Sensual and mechanical minds may doubt 
here ; but pure and lofty spirits adore. 

The truth is, man is from God, as to his origin, 
and to God as to his end. We are apt to date 
him from his fall, and think of him only as sev- 
ered from God and lost to perfection ; but he 
dates from an era anterior to the fall. God is 
the fount of our being ; so that in a close and 
peculiar sense, we are the divine offspring. 
iEschylus, the sublimest of the heathen poets, 
had slight glimpses of this truth. So had 
Euripides and others. Plato grasped it thor- 



THE ADVENT. 213 

oughly, though exaggerating its import, and 
thence inferring, though by no means unnatu- 
rally, the preexistence of souls. He shows, in 
language of surpassing beauty, that they came 
from God, and, though fallen into earthliness and 
sin, yet becoming "winged," that is, as we un- 
derstand him, renouncing all sensual delight, and 
longing for the pure and perfect, they rise again 
into the bosqrn of God. He puts this refined 
speculation into the mouth of Socrates-, conversing 
with a youthful friend, under the shadow of an 
agnus castus, beyond the city walls ; whence we 
infer that it is not impossible that the idea was 
cherished by Socrates himself.* 

Indeed, the idea of a divine paternity has been 
recognized, with more or less distinctness, by all 
lofty minds ; nay, has been descried as from afar 
by the common heart of humanity. It runs 
through the whole Bible, and finds one of its 
most striking expositions in the address of St. 
Paul before the Athenian Areopagus. " God, 
that made the world, and all things therein, see- 
ing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth 
not in temples made with hands, neither is wor- 
shipped with men's hands, as though he needed 
any thing; seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, 
and all things, and hath made of one blood 
[nature?] all nations of men, for to dwell on all 

* Phcedrus, 25. 



214 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the face of the earth, and hath determined the 
times before appointed, and the bounds of their 
habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if 
haply they might feel after him, and find him, 
though he be not far from every one of us ; for 
in him we live, and move, and have our being ; 
as certain also of your own poets have said, 
For we are also his offspring" 

Thus, then, from his origin, man bears the 
impress of Divinity. The image, indeed, like 
some beautiful statue, fallen into barbarian 
hands, may be defaced, but it is extant in all. 
For as God is a Spirit, so man, in his higher 
nature, is a spirit also ; as God thinks and wills, 
so man thinks and wills ; as God is the con- 
scious, the holy, and ever blessed, so man is con- 
scious, responsible, joyful, and, if " born from 
above," holy and blessed forevermore. In fine, 
as God lives, and loves, and acts, so man lives, 
and loves, and acts, as his image or echo on earth. 
Man dwells in God as the root of his being and 
well being. All the streams come from one 
fountain, all are filled with the same life. Take 
away God, and all the channels of human exist- 
ence are dry and desolate. Hence, every where 
man "feels after God," longs, sometimes indeed 
blindly and madly, but still longs for the perfect, 
the boundless, and eternal. When pure and peace- 
ful, filled with love and joy, he stands the fairest 



THE ADVENT. 215 

image of the Uncreated Beauty, like the great 
ocean in some clear and placid hour, mirroring 
the everlasting heavens. 

If God, then, should ever come to man, in 
other words, reveal himself to us in closer con- 
tact, and with a deeper and more tender signifi- 
cance than in all suns and stars, he would come 
in some godlike form of man, in some immacu- 
late, yet earth-born Messiah, through whose eyes 
of love he might look upon us in pity, through 
whose voice of strange power and pathos he 
might speak to us, through whose unfathomable 
heart he might love us, and through whose in- 
scrutable sufferings for sin he might expiate our 
guilt, and reconcile us to himself. 

Moreover, man had run down to the lowest 
point, as we have seen, previous to the Incarna- 
tion of Christ. The fall had produced its bitter 
fruits. Superstition and atheism had ripened, 
and all base passions, all personal and national 
lust and imbecility, were the result. A new be- 
ginning, a new and stronger life, were needed. 
Some divine power must be given : but how 
given, except in a living form, such as men could 
understand and feel, and to which, in spiritual 
bonds, they might be personally linked ? 

The help must come from above, that is clear ; 
and yet seem to spring from the bosom of hu- 
manity : in other words, it must be human and 



216 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

divine, in order to inspire sympathy, confidence, 
and love, and thus impart a new and everlasting 
life to the race. 

That is to say, stating the matter in such 
language as we possess, the divine Redeemer 
must be born into the world, and of a pure, 
sainted mother, appear as the sinless Son of 
God, grow up by natural, steps, develop himself 
by a process akin to the workings of nature, 
or the manifestation of God, in the advancing 
spring, or the growing corn ; till, matured and 
perfected, he shall once more pass, by a com- 
mon path, that is, death or dissolution, which is 
only change and transition, into the invisible, 
immortal state. 

. Such an incarnation is by no means an unnatu- 
ral or unfamiliar idea among men. Nay, it is 
one of the most natural and spontaneous. The 
Oriental world, with its grand, though bewilder- 
ing conceptions, teems with incarnations, — exag- 
gerations indeed, nay, caricatures, — but still hints, 
aud, so to speak, shadows of the possible reality. 
The Grecian mind, in lower forms, conceived 
the divine, as born amid the hills and vales. 
Mythical, we grant, but not unnatural, not even 
irrational, except in the meagreness of the form, 
and, above all, in the crude superstition and de- 
basing sensuality with which it was invested. 
The immeasurable superiority of the Christian 



THE ADVENT, 217 

incarnation is seen at a glance ; for the formeiv 
at best, were mythical incarnations of beauty 
and power, sometimes of passion, carnal and 
evanescent; the latter is a real incarnation, a di- 
vine embodiment of purity and love. In Pro- 
metheus we see strength of wilt, in Apollo 
beauty and wisdom; but in Christ we see "all 
the fulness of the Godhead." The former were 
symbols and myths, the latter is " God manifest 
in the flesh." 

But what do we mean by an incarnation ? 
Not the limitation, or humanization, (forgive the 
word,) of an infinite Essence, for that is impos- 
sible ; but the special presence, energy, or mani- 
festation of that Essence, itself boundless and un- 
utterable, in an exterior human form. It is thus 
that God reveals himself in all outward things, 
though here in Christ, by a special impersona- 
tion. Each spring, however, is but a " renewing," 
by means of a spiritual presence beneath the 
surface, " of the face of the earth." The poor 
Indian sees the Great Spirit in the thunder 
cloud ; we ourselves devoutly acknowledge him 
as the light and life of all we see. The heavens 
and earth are his garment, according to the 
lyric poetry of the Hebrews, the outer costume 
in which he robes himself.* The doctrine of 
a presence in nature, belongs not merely to the- 

* Psalm civ. 

19 



218 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

ology, but to science. And what is that idea 
of presence but the prelude, or intimation of a 
more specific advent, or presence among men ? 
Why should not the Deity become visible before 
our eyes ? Why should not the infinite Spirit, 
as well as the finite spirit, be capable of an em- 
bodiment? Certainly, with all our science and 
mechanism, our outward notions and carnal 
views, we cannot be averse to this ; for as a 
matter of fact, the spiritual comes into this world 
only as a birth — the soul is born into the joys 
and sufferings of this material sphere, of this 
carnal and mortal life. Spirit is ever superior to 
matter — comes to it, not from it. It is a cause, 
not an effect ; a power independent and immor- 
tal ; an essential and vital force, created, indeed, 
but still essential and vital, which wills and acts, 
in and through the material organization. The 
sensual philosophers teach that it is not primary, 
but secondary, a mere product of mechanism, 
or organization, evolved, as some of them say, 
from the action of the body, like the electric or 
magnetic forces from a common battery, and so 
passes away with the organism which gave it 
birth. But this is to confound cause and effect 
and not only so, but it is to confound cause and 
occasion ; for even the electrical or magnetic 
machine may simply supply the occasion or me- 
dium through which acts that all but spiritual 



THE ADVENT. 219 

force which we call electricity or magnetism. 
But the soul is a productive cause — a dweller in 
the body, controlling that body, and using it for 
its purposes, by the force of its original will. 
Besides, we are plainly taught in the word of God, 
that the spirit was imparted to the bodily organ- 
ization, w T hen formed and fitted for its dwelling- 
place, and that the spirit through that body 
communicates with the external world of forms. 
Spirit, then, is superior, not inferior or posterior 
to the body ; and thence is a proper incarnation* 
Every man coming into the world, by birth, 
• comes into it just as Jesus did ; and the only 
difference between them is, that the one comes 
as a spirit finite and feeble, because created and 
dependent, the other as a spirit infinite and im- 
mortal, because uncreated and divine. That 
spirit of ours, made visible in human form, de- 
pendent and limited as it is, is vastly more than 
the body; it is, so to speak, of grander dimen- 
sions, of more stupendous powers. And yet, 
there it gleams through its narrow dwelling, 
there it loves and acts, grows and expands in its 

* If any one prefers to say that the body is first created, or pro- 
duced, and that then the soul is given to it by a divine act, be it so ; 
the force of the argument remains the same. But the vital force 
and interior spirit one would think necessary to the very possibility 
of organization and growth. Our own opinion is, that though cre- 
ated by God, spirit is first, and that it is necessary to human exist- 
ence. 



2 '20 CHKTST IN HISTORY. 

fleshly tabernacle, from which, by and by, sub- 
limated and glorified by the change which men 
call death, it will pass, once more, into the spirit- 
ual and immortal state. 

Why, then, should it be thought a thing in- 
credible that the Divinity should become incar- 
nate, that the eternal Spirit should take up 
his dwelling, and perform his high work for 
humanity, in the limited, but fitting form of 
the man Jesus Christ? Nay, is not this the 
most natural, the most credible thing in the 
universe? What were a body without a soul? 
and what were Christ without the indwell- 
ing God? What, on the other hand, were the 
soul to us without the body; and what to us 
even the invisible God, without the manifesta- 
tion of himself in the man Jesus Christ ? We 
might have known him dimly and distantly, as 
the heathen know him, but never as we now 
know him, the Father, the Friend, the Redeem- 
er of us all. 

In the estimation of the sceptic and the world- 
ling, the advent of Christ may seem a small 
event ; nay, more, a thing impossible and incred- 
ible. "Yet it was the turning-point of the world's 
history," as Schelling, the greatest of the modern 
German philosophers, cheerfully avows. Then 
the a Day-star" from on high visited us. Then 
the " Sun of righteousness arose with healing in 



THE ADVENT. 221 

his wings." Then sprang to life a form of civil- 
ization, which was to penetrate the nations with 
an invisible but resistless force, and which, at 
the present time, as Jouffroy, one of the clearest 
and profoundest thinkers of the French eclectic 
school, has demonstrated, is the only thing ac- 
tive and diffusive in society, constituting, in fact, 
what Vinet terms the gravitation of the moral 
world.* 

Thus the birth of Christ, insignificant in its 
seeming, was inexpressibly great in its reality. 
Apparently the advent of a simple child, it was 
the incarnation of the Godhead. A mere inci- 
dent, in an obscure corner of the earth, which 
disturbed neither the course of nature nor the 
course of society, it was the origin of untold rev- 
olutions, the beginning of a new civilization and 
a new religion, of a new world and a new heaven. 
No wonder, then, that it was hymned by angels, 
as was the creation of the world at first, when 
the morning stars sung together, and all the 
sons of God shouted for joy. Not only on the 
plains of Bethlehem resounded the glad acclaim, 
but in the realms of glory. For as soon as the 
news was announced to the shepherds, " suddenly 
there was with the angel a multitude of the 
heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory 

* See Jouffroy's Melanges Philosophiques ; Vinet's Essais di 
Phi'losophie Morale, p. 189. 

19* 



222 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

to God in the highest, on earth peace and good 
will to men." 

Much of this has been styled a myth or legen- 
dary fiction by the sceptics of continental Europe, 
and their imitators in this country; after all, the 
thing, the reality remains. No hypothesis can 
explain it away. It is an effect of which some 
adequate, and therefore divine cause must be sup- 
posed. If any fact in history is well established, 
it is that of the extraordinary birth of Christ, 
and the wonderful change thereby wrought in 
the history of the world. But if the birth of 
Christ must be conceded, as the first step, in the 
series of stupendous facts connected with his mis- 
sion, then the mystery of the incarnation, the song 
of the angels, the visit of the Magi, and the star 
in the east, or the luminous appearance which 
guided their steps to the place of his nativity, all, 
in a word, connected with this event, natural, 
or supernatural, may be allowed. The same 
testimony which proves the one, proves also the 
other. If the one is natural in the circumstances 
supposed, so is the other. The miracle of 
Christ himself, his very presence in the world, 
with its vast influence among men, so clearly 
divine, easily accounts for all the rest. The sun 
in the heavens is not alone there, cannot be alone 
there. Stars follow in his train. Planets and 
satellites are his natural attendants. Light and 



THE ADVENT. 223 

beauty supernal flash along his pathway. If 
Christ, then, be the Son of God, how natural and 
becoming the angelic announcement! how beau- 
tiful " that soft hosanna's tone " from celestial 
choirs! how glorious that refulgent star, leading 
on the believers of the Orient — first fruits and 
representatives of the Gentiles — to Christ, and 
standing like a thing of life over the place where 
the young child lay ! how dignified and touching 
the homage of the shepherds, and the adoration 
of the Magi, with their gifts of gold, frankin- 
cense, and myrrh ! 

Let us draw nigh, then, and behold this great 
sight, this transcendent wonder, this true Sheki- 
nah of the Godhead. Away with curious im- 
aginings and impotent speculations. The Word 
is made flesh and dwells among us, and by faith 
we behold his glory, the glory as of the only- 
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 
Not by the vulgar senses, not even by the mere 
formal intellect, but by that higher exercise of 
the soul which discerns the true, the beautiful, 
the good, absolute and eternal, palpitating be- 
neath the thin vesture of external forms and finite 
existences, can we recognize and appreciate the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus. Life only 
can apprehend life. Souls echo to souls. Love 
is their interpreter. It is only thus that God 
himself can be known to man. Spirit answ 



224 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

to spirit, finite to infinite, the love of the believer 
to the love of God. 

Hence the incarnation is a sacred mystery, 
to be known and cherished in the secret depths 
of regenerate hearts, 



saiw. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE DISCIPLINE. 



Nature is progressive. Principles and forces 
emain, but organic forms and living creatures 
are gradually developed.* The powers beneath 
the surface are often concealed from human ob- 
servation, and apparently restrained and limited 
by an invisible hand ; but they are essentially, and 
at all times, the same, as God is the same. 
Working on, however, they give rise to the most 
diversified appearances, and actually seem to 
gather strength and volume as they proceed. The 
change is generally from the less to the greater, 
as the dawn advances to the perfect day. Thus 
the stars are born, taking their place in the gal- 
axy of night. Thus the rivers rise, and the for- 
ests grow. Thus the earth itself is projected into 
the realms of space, with its accumulating freight 
of living beings. Hence in the Scriptures we 
find " the beginning " of all things recognized, 

* Of course we do not here indorse " the Development Theory " 
of the author of " The Vestiges of Creation,'' now pretty thoroughly 
exploded. We maintain an original and perfect creation of distinct 
and independent species. But when created, these, as well as other 
organic forms, are gradually developed. Growth succeeds creation. 

(225) 



226 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and as in the discoveries of geological science, 
so here we behold the first creation of the great 
masses, " chaos and elder night" succeeded by 
the beautiful, all-penetrating day, then the 
deep strata of the earth's foundations, the alter- 
nations of sea and land, the green herbage with 
plants and trees, the old monsters of the deep and 
of the wilderness, fishes and birds, in their order, 
then the higher animals, and finally man, to crown 
the whole ; the six days of successive change and 
improvement, with the seventh of completion and 
perfection, or, as some have it, the six great pe- 
riods and revolutions of time, figured under the 
symbol of the common week, with its six periods 
of social activity, and its seventh of sacred rest. 

Man himself appears as a feeble beginning, first 
as an individual, and then as a single pair, after 
which follow families, communities, states, em- 
pires, that mighty and multiform thing which we 
call mankind, or the race. In the individual man, 
also, as now developed, we see the same wonder- 
ful process ; for he first appears as an embryo, 
and then as a child, feeble and dependent, with 
the majestic soul within, wrapped up, so to speak, 
in the tissues of the flesh, or in the secret cham- 
bers of the brain, but of vital and productive en- 
ergy, capable of all growth and enlargement of 
thought, purpose, and will, expanding with the 
V)dy, and finally arriving at the stature of a com- 



THE DISCIPLINE. 227 

plete and well-proportioned man, with his stal- 
wart limbs, clear eye, energetic hand, and all-com- 
prehending mind. Strange that a Newton, with 
all the grandeurs and complications of scientific 
thought, should lie in that little child. It would 
seem impossible ; but there he is, as vital, as en- 
ergetic, as great, absolutely, as when gazing 
through starry worlds into the very centre and 
essence of things. 

This, then, is God's method to work outwardly 
and onwardly, as from a centre, — gradually 
evolving his beautiful creations, and although un- 
changed in all the energies and resources of his 
nature, discovering himself in external things, by 
a limited, but constantly expanding process. He 
would seem thus to confine himself, to bring 
down and compress his energies in finite forms 
and forces, that an external universe, men and 
angels, might come into existence, — who, in 
due time, should recognize him as " all and in 
all." We have called this the progress of na- 
ture ; but nature is nothing separate from God. 
It exists by him and for him, with a view to the 
outward and eternal development of his glory. 
Hence Cowper is entirely justified in represent- 
ing what we call nature, as but " a name for an 
effect, whose cause is God." It would seem, 
then, that God, in outwardly revealing his nature, 
voluntarily subjects himself to an apparent process 
of limitation and development. 



228 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Now, in the incarnation, the second and more 
perfect outgoing or embodiment of the Deity, 
we should naturally expect something analo- 
gous ; as first of all, the promise and the prepa- 
ration, then the birth of the Divine among men, 
in the form of a wondrous child, pure as the 
opening day, or the first effluence of light from 
its primal fountain ; a nature mysterious, infi- 
nite, transcendent, but hiding itself in this limited 
and lowly shape, which grows and expands "till 
the Godhead shines refulgent through the whole. . 
So we find " the holy Child " passing into the 
boy — the thoughtful, spiritual boy, who, true 
to his original nature, " must be about his Fa- 
ther's business ; " then into the man, active and 
suffering, patiently passing through all the du- 
ties and exigencies of this mortal life, through 
the family, the church, and the state, through 
the garden, the cross, and the sepulchre, through 
all, indeed, of joy and sorrow, of obligation and 
attainment, w T hich comes betw T een the cradle 
and the tomb, until, perfected, he ascends, by 
inward force, " far above all principality and 
power, and might and dominion." Strange, men 
may say, that in that humble stable, in that 
lowly manger, in that helpless child, beautiful 
as a star in the gloom of night, should lie 
concealed the divine Redeemer, with all the 



THE DISCIPLINE. 229 

depths of his unutterable love, and all the re- 
sources of his infinite power. But no more strange 
than true ; no more strange than the dwelling 
of a finite spirit, yet to become a seraph, with 
vast power and eternal joys, in a similar form ; 
no more strange than the dwelling of the in- 
finite Jehovah in the universe he has framed;' 
for, above all, he is yet in all. And so also the 
gradual development of Christ as a child, a boy, 
a man, the lowly life he led, and the sharp dis- 
cipline through which he passed, to the full per- 
fection of his nature and work, are no more 
strange or anomalous than the course of creation, 
through its various throes and changes, to the 
full revelation of the creating God, in this fair, 
harmonious world. Clearly did the high soul of 
Milton discern the glory of the new-born child, 
even in the manger of Bethlehem, as he sang, in 
lofty numbers, that wonderful event, in which 
all heaven and its angelic choirs sympathized 
as a new creation, and in which hell, with all its 
brood of demons, felt that its empire was 
gone ; for he saw, as the angels saw, the mighty 
change thence to be wrought not only in the per- 
son of Christ, but in the entire history of man. 

" The oracles are dumb , 
No voice or hideous hum 

Runs through the arched roof, in words deceiving. 
Apollo from his shrine 
Can no more divine, 

20 



230 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

'With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving ; 
No nightly trance, or breathed spell 
Inspires the pale-ey ed priest from the prophetic cell. 

Peor and Baalim 

Forsake their temples dim ; 

And sullen Moloch, fled, 
Hath left in shadows dread 

His burning idol all of blackest hue ; 

Nor is Osiris seen 

In Memphian grove or green, 

Trampling the unshowered grass with lowings loud - 



" He feels from Judah's land 
The dreaded Infant's hand ; 

The rays of Bethlehem blind his dusky eyne ; 
Nor all the gods beside 
Longer dare abide, 

Not Typhon huge, ending in snaky twine. 
Our Babe, to show his Godhead true, 
Can in his swaddling bands control the damned crew.' 



Thus, in the principle of change and progress, 
the " Holy Child " is recognized as embodying 
" all the fulness of the Godhead," as much at his 
birth as when enthroned in the heavens. But 
the progress and development of the higher 
manifestation or incarnation of the Divine must 
be common and natural. It must take place in 
such a land as Judea, under such a reign as that 
of Herod, of Archelaus, and Herod Antipas, in 
such a house as that of Joseph, in some humble 



THE DISCIPLINE. 231 

occupation or trade, and by such ordinary min- 
istrations as fall to the lot of mortals. Jesus 
must be prepared for his great work, and in 
every phase and form of existence, of trial and 
suffering, discover to man the divine love and 
pity. Thus he must be persecuted even when a 
child, go down into Egypt to escape the wrath 
of the king, wander about in lowliness and pov- 
erty, hold fellowship with nature and man, be 
tempted even of the devil, pass through all stages 
of change and fiery trial, and finally of agony 
and death, for the redemption of the lost. 

It is only thus he can make himself known, 
only thus he can fully discover to us his indwell- 
ing glory, and bring down to man, not simply 
the absolute nature, but the very heart of the 
great God, yearning for the return of his off- 
spring; only thus that he can sanctify for our 
benefit, life, death, and the grave ; and so be- 
come our Forerunner to glory. 

It is on this ground that one of the Christian 
fathers (Irenaeus) has remarked that Jesus 
" came to save all by himself, all who through 
him are regenerated unto God — infants, little 
children, boys, young men and old." Hence " he 
passed through every age, and for the infants he 
became an infant, sanctifying the infants ; among 
the little children he became a little child, sancti- 
fying those who belonged to that age, and, at 



232 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the same time, presenting to them an example 
of piety, of well-doing, and of obedience ; among 
the young men he became a young man, that he 
might set them an example, and sanctify them 
to the Lord." * The thought is not only beau- 
tiful, but just and scriptural; for our Savior did, 
by means of his childhood, youth, and maturer 
life, confer dignity upon all, and prove that all 
may be made pure and happy. He thus fitted 
himself to become, in our human affections, the 
true brother and friend of man, in all possible 
relations. How profoundly this single circum- 
stance has affected the sympathies of mankind, 
all must be aware. Childhood and old age have 
felt it alike. The mother, gazing upon her in- 
fant, has felt it through all the depths of her 
being. The child itself has felt it when hearing 
that mother sing of the Holy One, " cradled in a 
manger," and " fed with the beasts of the stall." 
All ranks and conditions have acknowledged it. 
The poor man in his cottage, and the prince in 
his palace, the wild Indian, converted to Christ, 
and the polished European, consecrating himself 
and his family to God. 

" 0, who, that feels the spell which Heaven 
Casts round us in our infancy, 
But, more or less, hath homage given 
To childhood, half-unconscious why ? 

* Neander's Church History, vol. i. p. 311. 



THE DISCIPLINE. , 233 

A yet more touching mystery 

Is in that feeling comprehended 
When thus is brought before his eye 

Godhead with childhood strangely blended." 

The same fact has tended to impart a peculiar 
dignity and worth to human nature itself, and to 
the whole life of man, married thus to the ce- 
lestial and divine. The majesty of the Son of 
God seems thereby to be veiled, and doubtless, 
in some partial and relative sense, it really is 
so. But how immeasurably exalted is our poor 
humanity, and what treasures are thence in 
store for us, when we, too, are made " partakers 
of the divine nature ! " Certainly it was an in- 
finite condescension on his part to " take upon 
him the seed of Abraham," and appear among 
men, as one of the least and lowliest of all, go- 
ing down to the deepest deeps of human sorrow, 
that he might lift us up to God. But the Divin- 
ity was not thereby degraded, as some have 
rashly concluded, any more than a Howard or a 
Fry in prison, and among thieves, is degraded. 
Indeed, the Divine is equally glorified in descend- 
ing as in ascending ; so that we conclude that 
the mysterious union between the highest Es- 
sence in the universe and the lowliest form of 
men was at once natural and becoming. "We 
know of no shrine of the Deity so beautiful as 
the spotless body of " a holy child." The in- 
finite lies nearer to the souls of children than we 
20* 



234 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

are aware. Indeed, it is " all about us in our in- 
fancy." And when one is found absolutely 
stain. ess, that child forms a temple of the Deity 
more refulgent than all the starry spheres. Even 
on the cross, marred and dying, there is a grandeur 
in the person of the man Jesus Christ, for which 
the presence of the indwelling Divinity alone 
can account. 

Let us not, then, be surprised if we find the 
Son of God, who is equally the Son of man, 
subjected to the will of his human parents, in- 
creasing in years and strength, and " in favor 
with God and man," performing the accustomed 
round of duties, secular and sacred, mingling 
with his neighbors and kinsfolk in the humble 
town of Nazareth — asking and hearing ques- 
tions with the doctors in the temple, working at 
the occupation of a carpenter, or celebrating the 
rites of the Jewish faith. Let us not be sur- 
prised if w T e find him " a hungered," or " athirst," 
or u weary " at the close of day, tempted of 
Satan, " troubled in spirit," or rejoicing with 
deep and peculiar joy, "weeping with those that 
weep, and rejoicing with those that rejoice," 
mingling in life's festal or mournful scenes, par- 
taking of common pleasure, and bearing, in all 
things, the sorrows and infirmities of man. Se- 
rene and self-possessed in his higher nature, he 
is yet linked to man, as the soul is linked to the 



THE DISCIPLINE. 235 

body, and while the union lasts, must sympathize 
in all which is common to the race. " It be- 
hooved him in all things to be made like unto 
his brethren." Why ? That we might be able 
to recognize him as " a merciful and faithful 
High Priest in things pertaining to God." We 
need not, then, be shocked, if we hear his towns- 
people speak of him contemptuously, as "the 
carpenter's son," whose kinsfolk they know, or 
if we find him " despised and rejected of men, 
a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief." If 
the life of man, is " a great and inscrutable mys- 
tery," — if the life especially of a good man, in the 
lowest walks of poverty and sorrow, has in it 
something divine, — let us not wonder that the 
Son of God should pass through such a life, and 
thereby make it unutterably sublime. 

Night must come to reveal the stars. The 
beacon shines brightest in the fiercest storms. 
Love is the most intensely beautiful amid long 
watchings and agonies. And so best is the 
glory of God revealed in the poverty, lowliness, 
and suffering of Christ. The love, too, of a long 
and checkered life is better than the love of a 
single act, or even of many detached acts ; and 
thence Jesus must live and labor, and suffer 
through many years, the vivid incarnation of the 
infinite heart yearning for the restoration of the 
lost. It is only thus that the overwhelming con- 



2bb CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

viction is brought home to our souls, that we must 
and can be "regenerated unto God," and though 
sinful, fitted for glory and immortality. 

Little or nothing is recorded of the first thirty 
years of our Savior's life ; and in this we see 
the profound continence and wisdom of the 
sacred writers. It was a season of preparation, 
of common every-day duties, enjoyments and 
trials. With a slight exception or two, it had 
nothing in it of the strange or marvellous, such 
as fictitious writers would have easily found. 
And hence the u Gospel of the Infancy," as it is 
called, an apocryphal Gospel of early times, dif- 
fers, toto codlo, from the inspired records, indul- 
ging, as it does, in all sorts of foolish stories and 
extravagant figments, unworthy of the simple 
grandeur and serene beauty of our Savior's char- 
acter. It represents him as a capricious, re- 
vengeful child, working the most preposterous 
miracles, on the slightest and most insignificant 
occasions. How superior to all this the sober 
narratives of those who copied from the divine 
original, and narrated only what they knew to 
be fact and reality ! In boyhood itself, Christ 
must " be about his Father's business," as he 
told his virgin mother. Even then, the con- 
sciousness of an ineffable union with " the Fa- 
ther," of a high spiritual destiny, and of an ac- 
tual preparation for it, is indicated amid the 
common cares and sjrnpathies of his life- 



THE DISCIPLINE. 237 

An interesting question here presents itself, to 
which we may profitably devote the remainder of 
this chapter. How and where was Christ edu- 
cated ? Or rather, perhaps, was Christ educated 
at all, in the ordinary sense of the term ? Among 
what learned rabbis, or in what sacred school, 
if any, was he trained as a teacher of righteous- 
ness ? The question has been debated chiefly 
by the enemies of Christianity, who maintain 
that Christ acquired his wonderful knowledge 
by ordinary means, and that there is nothing 
really original in his system, admirable, especial- 
ly in its moral aspects, as they are compelled to 
acknowledge it.* The sublime truths taught by 
our Savior, the spirituality, purity, and com- 
prehensiveness of his views as a Reformer of 
society, and especially the simplicity, sublimity, 
and perfection of his moral code, confessed alike 
by infidels and Christians, must be accounted 
for. There is no effect without an adequate 
cause ; those, therefore, who deny the divine 
origin and authority of Christianity, must ex- 
plain it on natural grounds. 

Now, it may be allowed that Jesus had access 
to the Old Testament Scriptures, which he tells 
us he came " to fulfil," not to destroy ; and thence 
doubtless might derive some of his grandest con- 

* Strauss, Bruno Bauer, Newman, and others, represent him sim- 
ply as an extraordinary man, taught, probably, by the Essenes. 



238 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

ceptions of God, of duty, and immortality ; but 
this will not account for the whole, sceptics 
themselves being judges; for he left behind him, 
in the old dispensation, all that was tempora- 
ry, local, and ceremonial, all that was narrow, 
crude, and imperfect ; and not only so, but he 
added certain peculiar principles and precepts, 
organized the church, and thence society on a 
new and wider basis, and gave the whole a 
grandeur, force, and comprehensiveness utterly 
unknown to Moses and the prophets. 

Did he derive his information, then, from other 
books and documents ? Alas ! there were none 
from which he could derive them ; unless he 
possessed that peculiar alchemy of heaven, of 
extracting all the good out of every book and 
system, leaving nothing behind but the poison 
and the dross. Were this really the case, it 
would prove him as much inspired as if the 
whole proceeded from his unaided mind. It 
would be collecting by a power which none 
but God, or a God-inspired being, could pos- 
sess, the fragments of truth, scattered, as Milton 
finely imagines, over the face of the earth, like 
the mangled remains of the god Osiris.* Im- 
agine the broken parts of a magnificent temple 
lying promiscuously over a wide and tangled 
wilderness. What genius, but of that of a 

* Works, vol. i. p. 185. 



THE DISCIPLINE. 239 

Michael Angelo, were it possible even for such 
as he, could bring them together, and constitute 
them into the fair proportions of an original 
work ? That Christ should be fancied by scep- 
tics to have gathered all the good of Oriental 
theosophy, Grecian wisdom, as well as Jewish 
faith, into a fair and well-proportioned system, is a 
tacit acknowledgment of his amazing superiority. 

But there is not the slightest evidence that he 
ever studied these systems, or had the least 
familiarity with philosophical speculations of 
any kind. Indeed, nothing is clearer than his 
decided rejection of all speculative theologies, 
as well as the mysteries and symbols of the 
ancient pagan faiths. 

With the exception of a very short sojourn in 
Egypt, at a time of life when he could form no 
acquaintance with Egyptian literature and theol- 
ogy, he spent the most of his life at Nazareth. 
This was the place of his preparation for his 
public ministry. Remote from schools of learn- 
ing, he gave himself, so far as we know, to the 
common duties of religion and of social life, and 
passed, among his acquaintances, as one of the 
common people. When the Jews listened to his 
remarkable style of teaching, they expressed their 
amazement, on the ground that he had never been 
taught, like other learned and godly men whom 
they revered. " Is not this the carpenter's son, 



240 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

whose kinsmen we know?" " How, then, hath 
this man this wisdom, and these mighty works ? " 
Some have maintained, that he might have 
been familiar with the works of Philo, the cele- 
brated Alexandrian Jew, whose allegorical and 
philosophical explanation of the Mosaic faith 
presents some lofty and attractive features. But 
Jesus is free from the errors and fancies of Philo. 
His method of thought is entirely different. The 
one is allegorical and speculative, the other sim- 
ple and spiritual. Philo speaks as a philosopher, 
Jesus as a prophet. The one is an ingenious but 
fanciful thinker, the other is a messenger from 
God. Philo, indeed, claims to be inspired, as, 
he believes, all wise and good men are, but 
writes with the air of one who relies much on 
his own philosophic genius. He allegorizes the 
simplest facts, adding or retrenching, glossing or 
explaining away, as he sees fit ; and thus, while 
doing homage, apparently, to divine revelation, 
he goes far to diminish its strength and under- 
mine its authority. Jesus never allegorizes the 
facts and doctrines of the Old Testament ; but, 
extracting its spirit, proceeds, both in his teach- 
ing and life, to fulfil it, or fill it out, that is, 
complete and mature its teachings.* 

* Philo seems to have no idea of a personal Messiah, especially 
of a suffering Messiah, and makes redemption, as in Plato, to con- 
sist in a return to the absolute and infinite, without any proper 



THE DISCIPLINE. 241 

Could Jesus have been educated among the 
Pharisees, or have derived from them the prin- 
ciples of his system ? They were the most learned 
and rigid of the Jewish sects, and exerted a 
preponderating influence in the nation. They 
passed as the orthodox formalists of the times, 
and laid claims to the highest sanctity and worth. 
Venerating all the books of the Old Testament, 
they were rigid in attending fasts and festivals, 
and in observing all minute and ritual forms. 
Our Savior's spirit was just the reverse. He 
rejects all formalism and separatism, all assumed, 
external sanctity, all vain and superstitious cere- 
monies. Hence, in language of fire, he denounces 
the Pharisees as a generation of vipers — whited 
sepulchres — hypocrites. Thus, then, while agree- 
ing with the Pharisees in their veneration for the 
fathers, the sacred books, and the law of God, as 
also with their views touching the spirituality of 
God, and the resurrection state, he renounces 
their spirit and aim as destructive to true religion 
and virtue ! 

Well, then, could the Sadducees, who rejected 
the great mass of Jewish traditions, and clung to 
the Pentateuch as the original and infallible reve- 

conception of an atonement or a personal regeneration — principles 
which lie at the very foundation of Christianity. The Greek philos- 
ophy exerted upon him an immense influence. Hence it has been 
said that " either Plato philonized or Philo platonized." 

21 



242 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

lation of God, have been the teachers of Christ? 
Impossible; for their low and unspiritual views, 
their Epicureanism, as well as their scepticism 
touching the separate existence of spirits, and 
the immortality of the soul, were his abhorrence. 
The fact is, the Sadducees, a small but wealthy 
and influential class, were the materialists of 
Judaism. They denied the spiritual world, and, 
consequently, made as much of the present as 
possible ; living a free and Epicurean life, and so 
caring little for man, or God, or immortality. 
They are associated, in the denunciations of our 
Savior, with the Scribes and Pharisees, as equally 
the children of perdition. 

A single supposition only remains, and that 
will exhaust the subject, namely, that Christ 
derived his peculiar views of religion and mo- 
rality from the Essenes, or Esseans, represented 
byJosephus and Philo as the third sect of Jewish 
religionists, or, as they choose to term them, philos- 
ophers, adapting their representations to Grecian 
and Roman modes of expression. The extreme 
anxiety of both these writers to recommend every 
thing Jewish to their pagan readers has thrown 
some doubt over their accounts. They vary 
somewhat, though both have a slight air of 
romance. Little or nothing is known, from 
other sources, of these Essenes, though Pliny 
speaks of them in favorable terms, and represents 



THE DISCIPLINE. 243 

them as very ancient. His account, however, is, 
probably, borrowed from the Jewish writers, or 
from hearsay. It is questionable whether Jose- 
phus, or even Philo, knew much of them from 
personal observation. Their statements are 
rather vague and rhetorical. It is singular, too, 
that no mention should be made of them in the 
New Testament. So far as we can see, our 
Savior never came into contact with any of 
them. This, however, may be accounted for on 
the ground of the smallness of the sect, their 
monastic and retiring habits, and their residence 
at a distance from the principal scene of Christ's 
ministrations. They avoided cities and places 
of public resort ; took no part in the questions 
or agitations of the times ; shunned promiscuous 
intercourse, refusing even to eat with any but 
their own order. The name, according to Jose- 
phus, is derived from the Hebrew asah, because 
they practised the healing art ; though Philo and 
others have suggested a different origin. It is 
well known that the Jewish high priest wore 
upon his breast a splendid ornament, in which 
twelve precious stones were inserted, represent- 
ing the twelve tribes of Israel^ the appellation 
of which was the Essen. It was worn especial- 
ly when the high priest went into the holy of 
holies, and bore an intimate relation to the mat- 
ter of divine communications. It was regarded 



244 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

as a means, or medium, of approach to the 
Deity ; or at least signified, as the Urim and 
Thummim, a real fellowship, through the high 
priest, between Jehovah and the twelve tribes of 
Israel. Thus one mode of inquiring the mind 
of God was by Urim and Thummim. The 
society of the Essen, or the Essenes, then, ac- 
cording to this view, were a secret, mystical 
fraternity, who professed to have direct and 
peculiar access to the Deity, and thence claimed 
a sort of prophetic inspiration. As the Phari- 
sees were the formalists, and the Sadducees the 
rationalists, so the Essenes were the mystics of 
the Jewish nation. 

Their principal settlement was on the western 
shores of the Dead Sea — a region favorable, 
from its lone and desolate aspects, as well as its 
ancient and thrilling memories, to profound and 
melancholy thought. From this they slowly 
and secretly spread themselves through other 
parts of Palestine, and, it may be, southward as 
far as Egypt, where, according to some, they re- 
appeared in the Therapeutce^ or Jewish ascetics 
of Egypt. 

Both Philo and Josephus extol them for their 
rigid morality ; their simplicity and purity of 
life; their quiet and gentle temper; their hospi- 
tality and piety. They generally practised celi- 
bacy, regarding all women as unchaste, though 



THE DISCIPLINE. 245 

some of them did not altogether disapprove of 
marriage ; paid great attention to the curative 
properties of plants ; practised medicine ; and, 
when not engaged in contemplation or devotion, 
spent their time chiefly in agriculture, or in 
other simple and rural employments. 

They formed a fraternity, separate, secret, and 
exclusive — a sort of Freemason, or Eleusinian 
order — admitting members only after a novitiate 
of three years, and gradually passing them 
through four different stages, or classes, till they 
arrived at what they deemed the most perfect. 
Though oaths were strictly forbidden on ordinary 
occasions, no one was admitted to the society 
without solemnly binding himself, by the most 
awful oaths, to observe the rules of the order, 
and to keep its secrets, particularly those in refer- 
ence " to the angels," about whom they cherished 
some superstitious notions. At the close of the 
first year, the candidate received a small hatchet, 
a white apron, or girdle, and a white robe, which 
had a mystical or symbolical meaning. They 
lived upon the simplest fare; held little converse 
with each other, except at meals ; the four dif- 
ferent classes really forming separate castes, who 
regarded contact with each other as contamination. 
They performed frequent ablutions, but held an- 
ointing with oil in abhorrence. Philo denies that 
they offered any sacrifices, but Josephus affirms 
21* 



246 011RIST IN HISTORY. 

that they only declined offering them at the temple. 
Among themselves they performed sacrificial rites, 
with fasting and prayer, at the dead of night, or 
at early dawn. 

Justice and charity were regarded by the 
Essenes as cardinal virtues. Slavery among 
them was absolutely forbidden. They were also 
communists, having all things common in the 
matter of property and food. 

They believed in one God, whom they wor- 
shipped chiefly in the night, regarding that 
season, in common with many of the Oriental 
religionists, as peculiarly sacred. It is said that 
they worshipped the sun, perhaps as the symbol 
or image of the divine glory — a circumstance 
which would indicate some connection with 
Oriental theosophy. At all events, they offered 
prayer and sang hymns at the dawn, with their 
faces towards the rising sun. 

Their sacred books were kept secret, and used 
in divination, or prophesying; somewhat, we 
fancy, after the mode of the Sortes Virgiliance. 

Rejecting the great mass of Jewish traditions 
and ceremonial observances, the Essenes super- 
stitiously observed some ritual usages of their 
own, and were distinguished by their rigid man- 
ner of keeping the Sabbath. Abstemious and 
ascetic, they despised and mortified the body, 
believing it to be the seat of evil. Josephus says 



THE DISCIPLINE. 247 

that they wore their clothes till they fell to pieces. 
Their notion was, that the souls of men had fallen 
from the regions of purity and light into gross and 
sinful bodies, from which, in due time, through 
piety and penance, they would escape, and once 
more rise into the pure and spiritual state. 
Hence they rejected the resurrection of the body, 
and longed for reunion with God, through absti- 
nence and death. 

The Essenes have been divided into the theoret- 
ical and practical, the former being identified with 
the Therapeutse of Egypt, who, as their name 
imports, devoted themselves, like the Essenes, to 
the healing art; unless we are to understand the 
term symbolically, as having reference to the 
health of the soul. Matter, the celebrated author 
of the history of Gnosticism, and Neander, the 
church historian, doubt the connection of these 
two orders of ascetics, supposing, perhaps justly, 
that the monastic tendency might develop itself 
spontaneously in both countries, as it did in va- 
rious Oriental nations even among the heathen, 
and, in the middle ages, among Christians.* The 
Therapeutae had their principal settlement on 
the tranquil shores of Lake Moeris, not far from 



* Mosheim, in his Ecclesiastical Commentaries, also doubts the 
propriety of the distinction. His observations upon the Essenes 
are remarkably just and discriminating. Both he and Neander give 
it as their opinion that considerable varieties obtained am ong them. 



248 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the brilliant capital of Grecian Egypt, where 
they passed their lives in monastic seclusion, 
shut up in separate cells, devoted to prayer and 
contemplation. The sacred oracles formed the 
basis of their studies ; but they interpreted them, 
after Philo and other theosophic writers, allegor- 
ically. Their usages were those of the anchoritic 
life. They exercised themselves in fasting and 
other ascetic practices, taking only one meal in 
the evening, consisting of bread and water. In- 
deed, they sometimes spent whole days without 
eating. They met together, in solemn assembly, 
each seventh day and more especially on the 
seventh week; partaking together of fraternal re- 
pasts seasoned with salt and hyssop, listening 
to theosophic lessons, singing in chorus ancient 
traditional hymns, and performing certain mys- 
tic dances.* 

The fact is, the Alexandrian Judaism min- 
gled too readily with the spirit of Oriental and 
thaumaturgic mysticism ; and the usages of the 
Therapeutae were but a mixture of Jewish and 
pagan notions, reduced to practice, in monastic 
seclusion and ascetic severity. Hence, while the 
Therapeutae, as well as the Essenes, clearly pos- 
sessed some noble and even beautiful traits of 
character, they fell into errors and extravagances, 

* The view of the Essenes and Therapeutse here given is based 
upon the explicit statements of Philo or Josephus. See Appen- 
dix D. 



THE DISCIPLINE. 249 

alien from the spirit, at once, of Judaism and of 
Christianity. Infinitely superior as the Essenes 
were, both to the Sadducees and the Pharisees, 
and embodying in their creed some elevated 
tendencies, their whole system was exclusive and 
ascetic, just the contrary of Christianity, as 
taught by our Savior, and exemplified in his life. 
Undoubtedly there are some slight coincidences 
in the two systems ; but there are, also, the most 
obvious and striking differences. Christ was no 
Essene, — no monk, or ascetic, — for he mingled 
freely in society; approved of marriage, sanc- 
tioning it by his presence at the marriage in 
Cana of Galilee ; partook of ordinary food and 
drink ; ^so- much so, that his enemies charged 
him, falsely enough to be sure, but with an ap- 
parent plausibility, with being " a gluttonous 
man, a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and 
sinners." His system is not allegorical, or mys- 
tical, in the technical sense of these terms; 
neither is it narrow, monkish, and exclusive ; but 
all-comprehensive, practical, social, and free — a 
religion for man in all the relations of life and 
society. Like that of the Essenes, his kingdom 
is not of this world; but, unlike theirs, it has no 
tones provincial — no peculiar garb — no strange 
Shibboleth, or oath — no secret notions and 
usages — no worship of angels, or despising of 
the body — no superstitious reverence of the 



250 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

night — no worship of the sun or stars — no 
castes, or orders — no dread of society, or of com- 
mon every-day duties. Like theirs, the church 
of the first ages often had a community of goods, 
and took special care of the poor, the sick, the sor- 
rowful, the dying; but, unlike the Essenic frater- 
nity, it was composed of all ranks and conditions 
of men, and went forth among the unregenerate 
and outcast, preaching a free gospel, and urging 
them to press, without hesitation, into the fold 
of the Redeemer. Like the Essenes, the primitive 
Christians, following Christ, abandoned the dis- 
tinctions and vanities of the world, despised 
suffering and death, and were preeminently 
distinguished for their justice, veracity, hospi- 
tality, and fortitude ; but, unlike them, were 
actuated by a burning zeal for the spread of the 
truth, and the salvation of the heathen. While 
the Essenes shut themselves up in their secluded 
settlements, the Christians went every where 
preaching the word, and diffusing among men 
the blessings of salvation. 

But it is unnecessary to pursue the comparison 
further. It is clear, not only from the absence of 
the slightest historical testimony, but from in- 
trinsic evidence, that Christ and Christianity 
could not have originated among the Essenes of 
Palestine, or the Therapeuta? in Egypt.* 

* It is well known that Roman Catholic writers have claimed the 
Essenes and Therapeutoe as Christian monks, in order to justify the 



THE DISCIPLINE. 251 

Christ, even in the commencement of his career, 
was altogether peculiar and original. He does 
not even seem to belong to his age. Who thinks 
of him as a Jew at all ? He is as much superior 
to his era, and'his nation, as if he had descended, 
full grown, from a higher sphere ; as if he had 
sprung immediately from the bosom of God. 
And indeed he did come forth from God, and, 
while on earth, dwelt, so to speak, in the bosom 
of the Father. " No man hath seen God at any- 
time ; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom 
of the Father, he hath declared him." 

monastic system as ancient and apostolical. But the whole is an 
assumption, without historical basis. It is singular, however, that 
De Quincey, in two articles contributed years ago to Blackwood's 
Magazine, has defended this view, or at least a modification of this 
view, maintaining that the Essenes were primitive Christians, mis- 
taken or misrepresented by Josephus (whom he bitterly denounces) 
as a Jewish sect. De Quincev. however, has presented no new facts 
upon the subject. His reasoning is altogether hypothetical, and we 
are compelled to say, fanciful. Indeed, De Quincey, with all his 
learning, is not particularly reliable in questions of this sort. He 
is not unfrequently carried away by his imagination, in opposition to 
plain historical facts. The testimonies of Philo he has not even 
considered. He makes no account of the deliberate, well-founded 
opinions of such historians as Mosheim, Neander, Hase, Matter, 
Gieseler, and others. Any one who will take the trouble of reading 
his articles will find his reasoning conjectural from beginning to 
end. We refer our readers once more to note D in the Appendix. 



CHAPTER X. 

INAUGURATION, OR JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

Some time before the commencement of Christ's 
public career, Judea was reduced to the condition 
of a Roman province. Archelaus, after a weak 
and disastrous reign, as ethnarch, for nine years, 
was banished into Gaul. The country was sub- 
jected to the capricious despotism of Pontius 
Pilate, the Roman procurator, who took every 
opportunity of humbling the Jews, and breaking 
their national spirit. He was the fifth Roman 
governor of Judea, and received his appointment 
from Tiberius Caesar. He occupied that position 
about ten years, and distinguished himself by his 
spasmodic energy and cruelty. He is known in 
history chiefly in connection with our Savior's 
death. He introduced, not only into Caesarea, 
his ordinary residence, but into Jerusalem itself, 
the idolatrous standard of the Roman empire, 
and attempted to suspend certain bucklers, bear- 
ing the image of the emperor, in the palace of 
Herod. The Sanhedrim was still permitted to 
exercise some jurisdiction, but was sadly checked 
and degraded. This, as far as possible, they 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 253 

endeavored to conceal both from themselves and 
the people. Their claims seemed as lofty as 
ever ; and they guarded with an intense jealousy 
the ancient institutions and usages of the nation. 
Throughout the country, publicans or tax gath- 
erers, under the appointment of Rome, constantly 
reminded the people of her subjection to foreign 
domination. Galling burdens chafed them at 
every point. Their very religion was subjected 
to rude, pagan interference. The high priest 
was displaced at the pleasure of the Roman proc- 
urator, and sometimes with insulting levity and 
violence. No one could be initiated into that 
office without the sanction of Rome. Religious 
sects were inflamed against each other. The 
Herodians, as they were called, were universally 
hated. False to their ancient faith, they yielded 
their necks to the conqueror, and were active in 
modifying the spirit and institutions of their 
country. The most fierce and sanguinary fanati- 
cism raged amongst the followers and imitators 
of Judas, the Gaulonite, the leader of those who 
attempted to throw off the yoke of Rome. There 
was something, indeed, noble in their spirit of 
self-sacrifice, for they contemned suffering and 
death, and fought only for their country and their 
religion. Judas and his followers, however, per- 
ished miserably. The nation every where was 
agitated by treasons and tumults, often repressed 
22 



254 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

by the iron hand of Pilate, who more than 
once mingled the blood of the people with their 
sacrifice*. Indeed, the whole country was in 
a ferment, resembling a volcano heaving and 
dashing beneath the thin surface, previous to a 
violent eruption. 

John the Baptist, stern and majestic as a rock 
of the wilderness, where, in devout meditation, 
he loved to wander, was commissioned as the 
messenger or herald of the Messiah. Coming 
" in the spirit and power of Elias,'' according to 
ancient prediction, it was his office to introduce 
the Redeemer to the world, and so prepare the 
way for his public ministry. He made his ap- 
pearance in the wilderness of Judea, by the 
banks of the sacred Jordan. As a reformer and 
preacher of repentance, John, though humble 
and devout, was severe, and even ascetic. He 
came to rouse the people from their spiritual 
slumbers, and announce the approach of the De- 
liverer. In awful and thrilling tones, like a voice 
from eternity, he proclaimed his coming and 
kingdom. In anticipation of this august event, 
he baptized, in the Jordan, multitudes who re- 
pented of their sins, and professed to receive* his 
teaching in reference to the speedy establish- 
ment of the new spiritual kingdom of the Mes- 
siah. Many, indeed, both among the Sadducees 
and Pharisees, he rejected, discriminating thus 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 255 

between the sincere and the insincere, the false 
and the true hearted. His was not simply a 
baptism of external form, but of " faith and re- 
pentance," a symbol of a true inward change 
and preparation for the Redeemer, with his 
higher baptism of fire and of the Holy Spirit. 

But few, even of those who listened to the 
teachings of John, understood the " spiritual 
nature of the kingdom of God," and all, with 
scarcely an exception, were expecting in the 
Christ a mighty conqueror, a glorious, earth- 
born king. That the great body of those who 
were baptized by John, in anticipation of the 
Messiah's coming, were sincere in their belief, so 
far as it went, cannot be doubted. A great and 
happy reformation of manners was the result. 
The attention of the whole community was ex- 
cited. A strange thrill passed through them, as 
they listened to this new Elijah, recalling the 
long silent voices of the prophets. Then the 
way was prepared for the public appearance of 
the Messiah. The dawn of the new day was 
visible on the hills. The star, which heralded 
the approaching sun, shone bright and clear in 
the horizon. 

As it is important to understand the character 
of John the Baptist, and his relations to Christ, 
we will enter a little into detail respecting his 
life and ministry. The son of Zachariah and 



256 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Elisabeth, of the tribe of Levi, and of the race 
of the priesthood, he was born a little before 
Christ, probably at Hebron, or Jutta, a sacerdotal 
city, situated among the mountains, or " hill 
country " of Judea. His birth had been foretold 
to his father, and his name given him, in antici- 
pation, by an angel. He spent his early years, it 
is presumed, in his native town, far from the 
tumults of the world. It is said, in the sacred 
narrative, that he was "in the wilderness of 
Judea," [called such because it was a region of 
less fertility and population than the rest of Pal- 
estine,] until the commencement of his ministry, 
or, as it is expressed, " his showing, or manifes- 
tation to Israel." Here, in retirement and hu- 
mility, he acquired, by grace divine, that purity 
and force of character necessary to the fulfil- 
ment of his mission. His manners were primi- 
tive and simple ; his fare and his dress humble, 
and even ascetic. What was his precise educa- 
tion, we are not informed. Some have supposed 
that he must have received his peculiar views 
and habits from the Essenes. He has, we admit, 
somewhat the appearance and manners of those 
simple-hearted ascetics ; he possesses their purity 
and love of solitude, their energy and dignity of 
character. And as God works by means in pre- 
paring the agents and instrumentalities of his 
will, it is not absolutely impossible that John may 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 25? 

have associated somewhat with those primitive 
hermits, and acquired some of their views and 
feelings. But this fs a mere conjecture at best, 
and, upon the whole, is not sustained by any facts 
in the case. For, in the first place, John might 
have possessed all his simplicity, self-denial, and 
energy, without ever having seen an Essene, or 
belonged to any of their fraternities. He could 
not have been educated among them without a 
regular novitiate, and, consequently, must have 
renounced the peculiar views of his father, and 
many of the usages of his immediate family and 
connections. But of this we have not the slight- 
est hint. His food, " locusts and wild honey, " 
upon which he chiefly subsisted in the wilder- 
ness, was the common fare of many poor peo- 
ple in that part of the land, and would not seem 
at all unnatural to them. Indeed, his life might 
have been simply that of a Nazarene, a thing by 
no means uncommon among all the Jewish sects. 
The quiet and solitary scenes in which he spent 
his youth, the simplicity, purity, and devotion of 
many of the " hill people," especially of some 
of the old sacerdotal families, would naturally 
foster his contemplative and even ascetic turn. 
His parents were pious and simple hearted, 
" walking in all the ordinances and command- 
ments of God blameless." He was the promised, 
and, consequently, the cherished child, and thence 
22* 



2~>^ CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

their most precious offering to God. Like 
Samson, or like Samuel of old, he was brought 
up as a consecrated son, as a sacred Nazarene, 
who one day was to perform a great work for 
God and his church. We can easily understand 
how his mind would dwell upon the usages of 
the olden time, the simplicity and. energy of the 
ancient Jewish faith, the noble examples of hero- 
ism and self-denial among the prophets, recorded 
in the sacred books, and how, consequently, he 
would be fired with a noble enthusiasm to emu- 
late their example and fulfil his mission. His 
entire training, so far as his parents were con- 
cerned, would be directed to this single end. 
They knew that the herald of Christ was to 
come in the spirit of Elijah ; and as that illustri- 
ous prophet spent much of his time in solitude, 
and evinced a noble spirit of heroism and self- 
denial, being very " zealous for the Lord God," 
so would they encourage in their son similar 
habits and modes of life. Then, who can tell 
how early he felt the inspiration of God, moving 
him to undertake the high mission to which he 
was destined ; or how natural and easy he found 
it, even without instruction, to emulate the purity 
of the ancient seers ? 

We have the highest proof of the correctness 
of this view, in the prediction of the angel, upon 
which doubtless, his parents would act in his 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 259 

education. His course is described by the celes- 
tial messenger as that of a Nazarene : " For he 
shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall 
drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall 
be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his 
mother's womb." Nay, further, his entire mode 
of life, as the " forerunner of the Messiah," is 
detailed — a circumstance, which, known to his 
parents, and in due time to himself, must have 
shaped his entire character and habits. " And 
many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the 
Lord their God. And he shall go before him, 
[the Messiah,] in the spirit and power of Elias, 
to turn the hearts of the fathers unto the chil- 
dren, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the 
just ; to make ready a people prepared for the 
Lord/' * 

The same great truth is proclaimed by the 
father, in the peculiar style of Hebrew devotion 
and thanksgiving, at the birth of his son : " And 
thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the 
Highest ; for thou shalt go before the face of the 
Lord, to prepare his way ; to give knowledge 
of salvation to his people, by the remission of 
their sins, through the tender mercy of our God ; 
whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited 
us, to give light to them that sit in darkness 

* Luke i. 15-17. 



260 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet 
unto the way of peace." * 

Thus it will be seen that it was absolutely 
necessary for John to appear in the rude garb. 
and with the severe manners, of the ancient 
prophets, in order to be recognized by the peo- 
ple as the herald of the Messiah. So, also, it 
was necessary for him to dwell much in the wil- 
derness, as Elijah did, for the sake of fortifying 
his spirit, and preparing for his ministry. 

As he advanced in years, he grew " strong in 
spirit," acquiring clearer and profounder views 
of his mission, and animated by a constantly 
increasing zeal for its accomplishment. 

The precise time of the commencement of his 
ministry is uncertain.! The word of God came 
to him in the desert, and instantly he traversed 
the mountains and valleys of Judea, announcing 
the baptism of repentance, and the remission of 
sins. He took up his position especially at 
Bethabara, one of the passages of the Jordan, 
where he baptized those who became his disci- 
ples, and the disciples, by this means, of the com- 
ing Redeemer. To the questions which the 

* Luke i. 76-79. 

f It was in " the fifteenth year of Tiberius, Pontius Pilate being 
governor of Judea," &c, as we are informed by Luke, but in what 
season of the year is a matter of conjecture. It is supposed, however, 
to have been in the spring of the year. John was then thirty years 
of age, six months older than Christ. 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 26l 

people addressed him respecting their future 
course, he replied in the most practical manner, 
advising each class to attend to their respective 
duties, to amend their lives, and in humble peni- 
tence, to anticipate the speedy advent of the Holy 
One.* His preaching and mode of procedure, 
are not those of a fanatic, but of a noble, self- 
denying reformer. He cheers the contrite, di- 
rects the wayward, humbles the proud, and 
exhorts all to reform their hearts and their lives. 
To the Pharisees and Sadducees, whose haughty 
spirit and whose sham religion he despised, he 
addresses the severest rebukes : " O generation 
of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the 
wrath to come ? Bring forth fruits meet for re- 
pentance ; and think not to say within your- 
selves, We have Abraham for our father ; for I 
say unto you, that God is able of these stones 
to raise up children to Abraham." Thus John 
announced the need of personal reform, and of 
a new spiritual kingdom among men. His 
views are elevated and comprehensive. Unlike 
the Pharisees and Sadducees, he does not rely 
upon outward forms and mere beliefs, and un- 
like the Essenes, he does not confine his teach- 
ing to a class, or attempt to form secret fra- 
ternities, but to reform the people, to benefit the 
race. 

* Luke iii. 11-15. 



262 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Lustration by bathing in water was long prac- 
tised before the time of John, by the Jews, and, 
indeed, by all the ancient nations. The perform- 
ance, then, of the baptismal rite, as symbolic of 
a new spiritual change, or a new and divine faith, 
would naturally strike the Jews as an assumption 
of high ecclesiastical authority. This especially 
affected all ranks of the nation, and attracted 
the attention of the Jewish council, who sent a 
deputation to inquire into his claims. He dis- 
tinctly acknowledged that he was not the Mes- 
siah, nor Elijah, (in the sense they understood 
it,) nor that old prophet, whoever he might be, 
who, according to Jewish tradition, was to pre- 
cede the coming of the Messiah, and perform 
certain wonderful actions in the temple and else- 
where. " No," said he ; "I am the voice of one 
crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of 
the Lord, as saith the prophet E^aias ; " ihus dis- 
claiming all personal supremacy or independent 
authority, especially disclaiming all design of 
founding a peculiar sect, or setting up a new 
system, yet clearly intimating that he was the 
herald of the Lord, whose " baptism of fire and 
of the Holy Ghost," that is, a complete and divine 
transformation both of the individual and of the 
church, was dimly typified by his inferior bap- 
tism in the waters of the Jordan. 

What a beautiful and touching proof of the 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 263 

profound humility and self-abnegation of this 
greatest of the prophets ! No, he was not the 
Messiah ; indeed, he was not worthy, as he tells 
us, to stoop down and unloose the sandals of 
that divine Messenger ; he would claim nothing 
for himself; for, in his own esteem, he was nothing 
separate from Christ. " I am only a voice" said 
he, " an echo in the wilderness, proclaiming the 
coming of the kingdom." He would stand 
back, sink out of sight, for the Son of God ivas 
at hand. 

While John was thus engaged preaching the 
kingdom, and attracting crowds of followers, 
Jesus himself appeared, and asked baptism at 
his hand. With respect and astonishment, John 
hesitated ; for he probably knew him as one far 
his superior in sanctity and worth. Struck, too, 
with his appearance of dignity, and perhaps 
inwardly suspecting that he was the promised 
Messiah, though not yet "officially certified of 
the fact," as he himself informs us, John, who 
uniformly evinced the deepest humility, declined 
the service, saying, " I have need to be baptized 
of thee ; and comest thou to me ? " But, yield- 
ing to the authority of Jesus, who replied, " Suf- 
fer it to be so now ; for thus it becometh us to 
fulfil all righteousness," — perform every duty, or, 
as George Campbell translates it, " ratify every 
institution," — he went down with him into the 



264 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

water, and administered the sacred rite. It had 
previously been announced to John, that the sign 
of the Messiah should be the descent upon him 
of the Spirit from heaven, in some special or 
symbolic form, at his baptism. As Jesus then 
ascended, a luminous appearance, in the form 
or with the undulating motion of a dove,* (in all 
ages the symbol of purity and gentleness, and, 
in this instance, of the Holy Spirit,) descended 
upon the head of Jesus, and a voice was heard 
from heaven, recognizing him as the Son of God, 
well pleasing to the Father, and his accredited 
Messenger to the world. It was at this point 
that John knew, for certainty, that Jesus was the 
promised Messiah ; and from that hour he com- 
mended him to the people as " the Lamb of 
God, which taketh away the sin of the world." 
" For, although the Baptist had a glimpse of 
him," says Jeremy Taylor, " by the first irradia- 
tions of the Spirit, yet John professed that he 
therefore came baptizing with water, that ' Jesus 
might be manifested to Israel ; ? and it was also a 
sign given to the Baptist himself, that ' on whom- 
soever he saw the Spirit descending and remain- 
ing,' he is the person ' that baptizeth with the 
Holy Ghost.' And God chose to actuate the 
sign at the waters of Jordan, in great and reli- 
gious assemblies, convened there at John's bap- 

* Slcru TT£pi<TT£pav, Matt. iii. 16. Ev crw/*ar<A:ui d&zi, Luke iii. 22. 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 265 

tism ; and, therefore, Jesus came to be baptized, 
and, by this baptism, became known to John, 
who, as before he gave to him an indiscriminate 
testimony, so now he pointed out the person in 
his sermons and discourses, and by calling him 
4 the Lamb of God,' prophesied of his passion, 
and preached him to be the world's Redeemer 
and the sacrifice for mankind." * 

After his baptism, Jesus, it would seem, min- 
gled with the crowd, or retired from the scene. 
John, doubtless, in private, announced to his 
own immediate disciples the appearance of the 
Messiah. 

The next day, John seeth Jesus coming unto 
him, and saith, " Behold the Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sin of the world. This 
is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man 
which is preferred before me," &c. " This is the 
Son of God." Again : on the day following, 
John stood and two of his disciples ; and look- 
ing upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, " Behold 
the Lamb of God ! " Thus John introduced the 
Messiah to his disciples, in consequence of which, 
several of them, immediately, or soon after, de- 
voted themselves, doubtless in accordance with 
John's wishes, to the service of Christ. They 
were prepared to follow him, as the Son of God, 
the Redeemer of Israel. Among these were 

* Works, vol. ii. p. 184, English edition. 

23 



266 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Andrew, Simon, Philip and Nathanael, the latter 
of whom, receiving a convincing proof of the 
amazing knowledge of Jesus, exclaimed, " Rabbi, 
thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of 
Israel;' 

The testimonies cited from John the Baptist 
are important, as indicating his views of the char- 
acter and mission of Christ. They prove that 
he regarded him as a spiritual and divine Re- 
deemer, " the Son of God " by preeminence, 
" a name above every name," as St. Paul affirms ; 
and not only so, but that he regarded his mes- 
sage as one not formal and local, or simply Jew- 
ish, but moral and universal. He designates 
him the Lamb of God, reminding us of the 
paschal lamb, the means of redemption to Israel 
in that terrible night when the angel of destruc- 
tion passed over their houses, on w r hich the blood 
of the paschal lamb had been sprinkled, and in 
all subsequent time offered in sacrifice, on the 
day of the great annual passover, thus indicat- 
ing the character of Christ as a spiritual Deliv- 
erer, " our paschal Lamb," as he is styled by the 
apostle of the Gentiles, " the Lamb of God, ivho 
taketh away the sin " — not the political degra- 
dation and bondage, but the sin of Israel, and 
not of Israel only, but " of the world?' How 
lofty, spiritual, and comprehensive are these 
view T s of John the Baptist! how much in 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 267 

harmony with those of the ancient prophets, 
of Christ himself, and of the whole Christian 
church ! 

John continued to preach these great doctrines 
to the people, and in various places, in ^Enon, 
near to Salem, for example, by baptism, to pre- 
pare disciples for the Master. When a discus- 
sion arose between some of John's disciples 
and those of Jesus, about purifying, (perhaps 
the effect ascribed to baptism,) the Baptist de- 
clared his inferiority to the great Messiah, and 
his consequent unwillingness to form a school or 
sect separate from his. He avowed his mission 
to be subordinate and preparatory. " He must 
increase, but I must decrease." 

Subsequently we find John cast into prison, 
for his stern fidelity to duty, in reproving Herod 
Antipas (who greatly respected him as a proph- 
et) for having Herodias, his brother's wife, a 
fact referred to by Josephus. Here lingering in 
confinement, his disciples, come to him, and ask 
him about the Messiah, concerning whom they 
began, under the circumstances, to cherish 
some doubt. It is not, indeed, impossible, 
though it would seem highly improbable, that 
John, depressed in mind, might himself have 
yielded to doubt. But the circumstances seem 
to forbid such a supposition. And hence we 
conclude that the difficulty lay in the minds 



268 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

of his disciples, for whose satisfaction he sent 
them to Jesus, with the question, " Art thou he 
that should come, or do we look for another ? " 
At the moment they arrived, Jesus was perform- 
ing some of his wonderful works. Instead of 
answering them directly, he said, " Go and show 
John again those things which ye do hear 
and see : the blind receive their sight, and the 
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf 
hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have 
the gospel preached unto them."* Then follows 
our Savior's beautiful testimony to John : "What 
went ye out into the wilderness for to see ? A 
reed shaken with the wind? But what went 
ye out for to see ? A man clothed in soft rai- 
ment ? Behold, they that wear soft raiment 
are in kings' palaces ? But what went ye out 
for to see ? A prophet ? Yea, I say unto you, 
and more than a prophet. For of those that are 
born of women, there hath not risen a greater 
than John the Baptist." " Nevertheless," he add- 
ed, referring probably to the case of a disciple made 
perfect in the kingdom of God, glorified in body 
and in spirit, " he that is least in the kingdom 
of God is greater than he" — thus resolving 
all greatness into purity and love.f There could 

•■ Matt. xi. 3-6. 

f Perhaps, however, the reference here is to a disciple in the 
kingdom or church of God, fully established on earth, subsequent 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 269 

be no diversity of opinion and purpose, then, 
between Christ and John ; both fully under- 
stood that the deeper radiance of the kingdom 
of heaven swallows up and absorbs all lesser 
lights. The one as the Sun of Righteousness, 
the other as the star which heralds his coming, 
advance, joyously, into the unobstructed efful- 
gence of the eternal kingdom. 

At length, John disappears from the scene. 
He was beheaded at the instance of Herodias, 
and thus entered glory, by a quick, though 
bloody passage. His work was done ; Jesus 
alone must appear on the scene, and occupy the 
entire field of vison.* 

to the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and so possess- 
ing higher views and enjoying greater privileges than John. Though 
elevated, we are not to suppose the views of John to be as perfect, 
or as clearly defined, as those of the early Christians, who lived after 
the permanent establishment of the church. See Olshausen in loco. 
* Some of John's disciples did not carry out the spirit of their 
master, but forming a peculiar sect, lapsed into narrow Jewish 
prejudices, and carnal usages. Hence the Ebiontes. 

23* 



CHAPTEE XI. 

THE MYTHIC THEOKY. 

We have dwelt the longer, in the preceding 
chapters, on the preparation of Christ for his 
public ministry, as well as on the character and 
mission of John the Baptist, because they sup r 
ply the materials for a refutation of one of the 
most plausible and ingeniously supported theo- 
ries of modern scepticism — to account, on natural 
grounds, for the life and character of Jesus, as 
the acknowledged Messiah. We refer to the 
hypothesis of Strauss, developed in his Life of 
Jesus, and adopted in its fundamental features 
by the great body of sceptics in Europe and in 
this country, among whom we may name Theo- 
dore Parker, who has reproduced it for the benefit 
of American readers. We have already alluded 
to this theory, but we wish to take some further 
notice of it, as it is confessedly the boldest yet 
proposed, to account for a life, which Rousseau 
himself was compelled to consider a miracle. 

It is based, we may premise, upon a funda- 
mental denial of the possibility of miracles — a 
prodigious assumption, as most persons wilJ 

270) 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 271 

regard it, yet a perfectly natural one to Strauss, 
who, philosophically, is a pupil of the pantheis- 
tic school, and, therefore, positively denies the 
existence of a personal God. Nature and God, 
in his theory, are confounded. He knows no 
God but " the Absolute Essence, which comes 
to consciousness in man." Nature, or the exter- 
nal universe, is but the necessary and eternal 
manifestation of the divine. All, indeed, is 
divine, as man is divine, and in its essence 
changeless and eternal. What we call change, 
or the relation of cause and effect, according to 
this theory, is but the ebb and flow of the uncre- 
ated being, who reveals himself in nature and in 
man. Under such a system, the idea of new 
beginnings or creations, whether in the natural 
or the spiritual worlds, of special interventions 
and revelations, as ordinarily understood, and, 
above all, of miracles and incarnations, is inad- 
missible. Such divine interpositions, beyond the 
sphere of natural or ordinary causes, Strauss 
pronounces impossible.* 

Keeping this in mind, we present the follow- 
ing, as a fair statement of the substance of his 
theory : — 

* It is on this ground that Neander designates the controversy 
commenced by Strauss as " a struggle between Christian Theism 
and a system of world and self deification. — Preface to his Leben 
Jesu. 



272 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

" All that is miraculous in the life of Christ, 
as given in the gospel, and recognized by the 
church, is mythical ; that is, it is the natural ex- 
aggeration of a credulous and superstitious age, 
anxious to exalt its heroes into divinities. There 
was such a man, such a teacher and reformer, as 
Jesus, the principal natural events of whose life 
are probably real historical facts ; but all else, 
all especially that is supernatural, his birth from 
a pure virgin, the song of the angels, the star in 
the East, the miracles, the resurrection, the ascen- 
sion, &c, are legendary or fictitious. He was 
a native of Nazareth, the son of Joseph and 
Mary. Some exhibition of uncommon intelli- 
gence may have given rise to the story of his 
sojourn in the temple, when twelve years old, 
though this is doubtful. He probably had some 
instructions from the Essenes or from the Jewish 
Rabbins, and intelligent persons whom he met at 
the feasts at Jerusalem. At about thirty years of 
age, he became a follower of John the Baptist, 
who appears to have belonged to the sect of the 
Essenes, and to have proclaimed the popular 
idea, very natural among an oppressed people, 
that the great national deliverer was at hand. 
Jesus probably remained a follower of John the 
Baptist much longer than the partiality of tra- 
dition would allow us to believe. At length he 
began to preach, at first the same doctrine with 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 273 

John the Baptist, that the Messiah was about to 
appear. Gradually becoming conscious of his 
extraordinary power, the idea occurred to him 
that he was destined to fill that office. His con- 
ception of the Messiahship, at first probably 
similar to that entertained by the Jewish people, 
rose with his increasing experience, until, apply- 
ing to himself the prophecies of the Old Testa- 
ment, which speak of the Messiah as suffering, 
he was convinced that a violent death, which 
the malice of his enemies rendered probable, 
was a part of his mission. Having exercised 
the mission of a teacher and reformer of morals, 
he was at length put to death. He did not rise 
again, but the excited imagination of his follow- 
ers presented his form in visions ; a report spread 
of his resurrection, which was believed among 
his followers, and contributed chiefly to the suc- 
cess of his religion." 

On this ground, Strauss and his followers 
ascribe no fraudulent designs either to Christ or 
his disciples. The whole conception of his 
Messianic character is attributed to the force of 
imagination. The myth, based upon a few frag- 
mentary natural facts, grew, so to speak, by ac- 
cretion, so that the church did not receive, but 
gave itself a divine Messiah. The followers of 
Christ, then, are in no sense impostors, but simply 
enthusiasts, who, finding certain things predicted 



274 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

of the Messiah in the ancient prophets, imagined 
that they must have happened, as matters of 
fact, in connection with the life of Jesus. 

It hence follows, that the Christian records 
were the gradually accumulated result of tra- 
ditions, hearsays, and imaginings; and thence, 
that they contain a few grains of truth amid a 
vast accumulation of legendary fiction. 

This theory, apparently ingenious as an hy- 
pothesis, and supported by minute and laborious 
learning, is contradicted by the facts in the case. 
At the best, it is a mere hypothesis. Its basis 
is gratuitous. Its main positions are simple 
historical guesses. Nay, its truth would seem 
to be impossible in the nature of things. On 
such a supposition the gospel is a production 
without a producer, an effect without a cause. 

It is inconceivable, for example, either that the 
apostles, or Christ himself, with his vast intellect 
and serene affections, could have thus imposed 
upon themselves. His relations to John the 
Baptist, with the teachings and aims of both, 
are inconsistent with the supposition. 

How, moreover, could the apostles, with their 
peculiar views and prejudices, spontaneously form 
and develop the idea of Christ's peculiar char- 
acter and life, so far transcending any thing which 
had ever dawned upon their minds — so far, in- 
deed, transcending the whole spirit of the Jewish 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 275 

people ? But, even supposing that they could 
have originated and sustained the idea, it is 
incredible that they should have persuaded 
themselves that it was actually realized in Jesus 
of Nazareth. Were such the case, we must 
conclude not only that their intellects, but that 
their senses, were deceived. The events to which 
they testify, in the most natural and deliberate 
way, are of the most striking and stupendous 
character. They happened, also, according to 
their own accounts, beyond their expectations, 
and often in opposition to their wishes. How 
is it credible, then, that they could have been 
deceived as to their occurrence ? Would it be 
likely, for example, that sane men would imagine 
that they had witnessed the great events of the 
American revolution — the declaration of indepen- 
dence — the battles of Lexington and Bunker's 
Hill — the crossing of the Delaware — the surren- 
der of Burgoyne — the inauguration of the first 
president — if they had never witnessed them, 
above all, if these events had never occurred ? 
Even supposing them superstitious and credulous 
— nay, more, looking for an American Messiah — 
could they be made to believe that they had found 
such in the illustrious Washington? that they had 
seen him perform the most stupendous miracles? 
that, after his death, he had risen from the grave, 
and held many conversations with them ? and, 



276 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

finally, at the end of forty days, had ascended, 
in their s'ght, to heaven? Above all, could any 
man with the calm intellect, sound heart, and 
generous nature of Washington, even if a reli- 
gious enthusiast, be made to imagine himself the 
Son of God — a special divine messenger, who, 
possessing supernatural powers, and performing 
divine miracles, was first to die and then to 
rise again from the dead — and thus become 
the founder of a new religion? After having 
predicted his own death by violence, and his 
resurrection on the third day, is it likely that 
such a death, and, above all, such an imaginary 
resurrection, should become the basis of a great 
religious system, the most beautiful and compre- 
hensive the world has ever seen ? 

After his death, " a report," says Strauss, 
" spread of his resurrection." Is Christianity 
founded upon a report ? To say nothing of our 
Savior here, how could his apostles, who ever 
bore a decisive and uniform testimony to his 
miracles, especially the miracle of the resurrec- 
tion, as the foundation of their faith, and that, 
too, immediately after the supposed occurrence 
of the events, have done so, if such events had 
never happened ? By what strange device could 
they make themselves believe that these great 
and startling phenomena actually happened 
under their eyes? They testify not to opinions 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 277 

or notions, but to facts — facts never contradicted 
by their enemies — facts for which they were 
willing to lay down their lives. 

Moreover, if the Gospels were a mere collection 
of traditions, hearsays, and notions, growing 
spontaneously from the spirit of the age, or the 
spirit of a self-constituted sect, based upon some 
natural facts, as Strauss supposes, they would em- 
body all the prejudices of the times, and give us 
a Messiah corresponding to the crude and fanat- 
ical views prevalent in such an age, and among 
such a sect. The character of a Messiah, so 
conceived, could not be coherent or symmetrical, 
but one-sided and fragmentary. Rude peasants 
would not be likely, by spontaneous effort, to 
compose a Miltonic epic, or construct the dome 
of St. Peter's. One would say, such a thing is 
impossible. How then could an ignorant sect 
of Jewish enthusiasts, long after the times of the 
actual Jesus, for that is the real supposition of 
Strauss, construct, out of the simple traditionary 
relics of his career, the grand and beautiful edifice 
of his Messianic character and life ? 

The Gospels, we may say, are the basis of 
Christendom. They are the fruitful germs of all 
that is elevated and comprehensive in the morals 
and civilization of our modern world. They have 
accomplished the greatest, the most beneficial 
revolution in the history of man. They reveal 
24 



278 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the spiritual and paternal character of God, and 
the true and equal brotherhood of man. Simple 
they are, but of wondrous power and beauty. 
Their teachings not only transcend the a.ge in 
which they appeared, but all ages — they yet 
transcend ours. They are far in advance of our 
meagre policies and imperfect virtue. Their light, 
even now, streams far into the future, revealing 
a brighter and holier age to come, in which love 
to God and love to man shall be the reigning 
impulse. 

In these wonderful compositions, the life of a 
perfect being, at once human and divine, is car- 
ried successfully, and with singular dramatic 
power, through the most exciting and tragic 
scenes, to its sublime and triumphant close. The 
genius of JEschylus or of Shakspeare is brought 
out, especially in death scenes ; but what death 
scene, real or fictitious, will compare with that 
of Christ? What great historian or tragic poet, 
in his loftiest flights, has reached an elevation 
making the slightest approach to this ? Ah, 
well might Rousseau say, " If Socrates died like 
a philosopher, Jesus died like a God!" 

It is incredible that the writers, some of them 
eye witnesses of the events which they narrate, 
with their natural'and minute statements of facts, 
written each from his own peculiar stand-point, 
and without reference to the others, should have 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 27 { d 

cheated themselves by the mere force of imagi- 
nation. They state only what two of them at 
least heard, and saw, and felt, and the others 
knew to be true, from the testimony of compe- 
tent witnesses, as they themselves, over and over 
again, affirm. 

Take, for example, the Gospel according to 
John, which Strauss, Bauer, and others have 
made such fruitless efforts to set aside. Its gen- 
uineness has been triumphantly vindicated.* In- 
deed, we are justified in saying that it is as 
certainly the composition of John as the Life 
of Agricola is that of Tacitus. Well, then, could 
John, with his pure character and clear intellect, 
persuade himself, by the mere force of imagina- 
tion, that he had witnessed miracles which he 
had never witnessed ; especially could he per- 
suade himself that he had seen the empty sepul- 
chre of Christ, then Christ himself, subsequent 
to his resurrection ; that he had conversed with 
him in open day, had walked with him towards 
Bethany, and seen him ascend into heaven, if 
these things had never happened ? Would it be 
possible for him to invent, not fraudulently, but 



* See Tholuck on John, Olshausen on the Genuineness of the 
Gospels, as also Norton on the Genuineness of the Gospels, partic- 
ularly the first Yolume of that able and elaborate work ; see also 
Bunsen's Hippolytus, in which the theory of the Tubingen school 
is refuted, vol. i. pp. 40, 41, 87, 88, and vol. iv. pp. 105, 106. 



280 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

through the more force of fancy, the entire Mes- 
sianic character, and ascribe it to one with whom 
be had associated during the whole of his public 
ministry, and must have known to be a mere 
natural man like himself? Credat Judceus* 

Again : a myth and mythic writings, such as 
are supposed by Strauss, take a long time for 
their formation. Religions do not originate in 
myths. These are the growth of a subsequent 
age. Even supposing it possible, a century or 
two, at least, would be needed for the natural 
growth of such a system as Christianity, and 
the production of such writings as the Gospels 
and Epistles. But Strauss himself does not 
take the ground that they originated beyond the 
latter part of the first century, or during the first 
forty or fifty years after the death of Christ. 
For which reason, we once more affirm that their 
production, within that time, as myths or legends, 
cannot be conceived ; for the actors in the 
scenes referred to, as well as their contempora- 
ries, many of them interested and bitter enemies, 
were alive to prevent it. 

Further : the testimony in favor of Christianity, 
as a supernatural, yet historical manifestation, is 
all on one side ; there is actually no counter 



* The same reasoning will apply, of course, to Matthew, and in- 
deed to all the primitive Christian witnesses. 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 28l 

testimony. If such had existed, it would have 
been produced. The next age at least would 
have produced it. Celsus, Julian, Porphyry, the 
Jewish and heathen adversaries of Christianity, 
would have urged it. But all are silent. Hence 
Strauss has drawn upon his imagination, rather 
than his learning, in denying the genuineness of 
the Gospels, and ascribing a mythic character to 
Christianity. The legend, if any, is in his own 
brain, the myth is woven from the tissues of his 
own fancy. 

So much is this the case, that among the truly 
learned in his own country, Germany, the mythic 
theory is regarded as an exploded error. 

The fact is, in the life of Christ, as the merest 
tyro must see, the supernatural or divine is so 
blended with the natural or human, that they 
cannot be separated, without destroying both. 
Nay, the supernatural or divine greatly predomi- 
nates ; it is not simply the coloring, but the sub- 
stance of the whole. So that if you strike out 
that, you leave nothing. The sun has vanished 
from the heavens. Strauss, indeed, pretends to 
leave a wonderful teacher and reformer, perhaps 
a great philosopher, but only in his own imagi- 
nation ; for all the wonderful in his history has 
vanished, and the teacher, whoever or whatever 
he may be, is not the Messiah — is not, in fact, 
the historical character, acknowledged as the 
24* 



282 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

founder of Christianity. When the foundation 
fails, the superstructure must fall. 

It is the supernatural which forms the origin 
and basis of the Christian church. Without this, 
its existence as an historical fact would be an ef- 
fect without a cause. But the Messiah, so tran- 
seendant and wonderful, even as a conception, — - 
a conception, for which, says an eminent Ger- 
man writer, one might consent to be branded and 
broken on the wheel, — is not the product of the 
church ; the church is the product of the Mes- 
siah. To say that the church has given itself a 
Savior, as Strauss maintains, is to invert the 
pyramid, is to make the river run backwards. It 
would be a greater miracle than the one sup- 
posed ; nay, rather, it would be an absolute 
monstrosity. We can easily understand how 
light illumines darkness, but how darkness gen- 
erates light is beyond our comprehension. The 
primitive church of the New Testament, with 
its lofty conceptions of God and immortality, its 
simple institutions, its pure morals, and, above 
all, its aivine life, so superior to all Jewish, to 
all Greek and Roman ideas, can be traced only 
to Christ, and through Christ to God. The 
fountain generates the stream, not the stream 
the fountain. 

Every religion fully represents its founder. 
His image is mirrored there. It is thus with 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 283 

Islamism. Mohammed is its inspiring genius. 
You see nothing more, nothing less than Mo- 
hammed. It rises no higher, falls no lower than 
the prophet. It is human as he is human. His 
knowledge, his genius, his enthusiasm, his mor- 
als, his aims, such as they were, all are mirrored 
here. Hence every one sees at a glance what 
he was, from what it is ; and the result is an in- 
delible conviction that it is good in some re- 
spects, but still human, and not divine. So also 
in Christianity we see Christ. His life, his death 
and resurrection, above all, his divine or super- 
natural character, majestic and beautiful as the 
Godhead, all are here as in a mirror. God is 
love — Christ is love, infinite and immortal. 
We behold "in this glass the glory of the Lord." 
And the result is, in all those capable of appreci- 
ating it, an indelible conviction that it is divine, 
as he is divine. In fine, Christianity does not 
project Christ as its image or reflection, but Christ 
projects Christianity. He is its cause and ori- 
gin, its animating spirit and life. If, then, Chris- 
tianity is a reality, Christ is a reality. It is the 
one day which flows from the one sun. 

The apostles themselves, the writers of the 
Gospels, the first Christians, the early martyrs 
are the product of Christ. Their existence, their 
heroic lives, their triumphant deaths are impos- 
sible without him. The Christian records are but 



284 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

hi? fcho, and whether absolutely or only relatively 
pp rfect, they are authentic and true. One might 
a /mit even their fragmentary character, and yet 
' laintaio their integrity. Christ is mirrored in 
hem, as the serene heavens are mirrored in the 
?ea. And what, we ask, is seen in Christ him- 
self ? All the fulness, all the love and pity of 
the Godhead. 

One might as well tell us that the sun and 
stars do not shine in the heavens, as tell us that 
Christianity is a myth, and the Bible a legend. 
The owl-like spirit of infidelity may flap its 
boding wings under the sunlight, and cry, Where 
is it ? But yonder in the far depths is the king 
of day, and here on earth we bask joyously in 
his beams. 

The author of the mythic theory, not fully 
satisfied with it himself, has occupied the greater 
portion of his ponderous work in commenting 
upon the apparent discrepancies, inconsistencies, 
and contradictions supposed to be found in the 
four Gospels ; but in this department of inquiry 
he has suggested nothing new. All may be re- 
ferred, without straining, to such omissions and 
variations as might aaturally be expected in the 
depositions of four honest, independent witnesses. 
Such variations, as Starkie (on Evidence) has re- 
marked, though furnishing the adverse counsel 
with a copious subject of cavil, are perfectly 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 285 

consistent with substantial harmony. Nay, they 
become a collateral proof of integrity ; for they 
are precisely such as must necessarily be found 
in the concurrent testimonies of frank and com- 
petent witnesses. Unity with variety is their 
most distinguishing feature. Even allowing, for 
the sake of argument, the occurrence here of oc- 
casional slight mistakes, in reference to matters 
of time, place, succession of events, and other 
details, the fundamental integrity of these writ- 
ings is not thereby impeached.* They still re- 
main on the same platform of substantial au- 
thenticity with all other historical documents. 
Those, indeed, who claim their plenary inspira- 
tion, will not, of course, admit the possibility of 
such mistakes ; but this is a point which we are 
not discussing now ; nor does it really enter into 
the question either of genuineness or authen- 
ticity. All we need now to assert is the funda- 
mental historical verity of the Gospel narratives, 
so consistent and harmonious, and yet so natural 
and free. They are such, at least, as to satisfy 
the keen, exhaustive criticism both of a Neander 
and a Niebuhr.f So that we feel ourselves fully 

* For a specific refutation of Strauss's objections, sometimes on 
his own grounds, see Neander's Life of Christ. 

f The critical and sceptical tendencies of Niebuhr, as well as his 
boundless historical learning, are well known. He stands at the 
head of all critical historical investigators, as Neander stands at the 
head of all ecclesiastical historians. After a thorough examination 



286 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

justified in saying that, if the gospel history is 
not authentic, there is no authentic history in 
the world. 

We conclude, then, that the theory of Strauss 
is the production of his own imagination, based 
upon false assumptions and erroneous state- 
ments, inconsistent with historical verity, incon- 
sistent especially with the genius of Christian- 
ity, and only plausible on the hypothesis that 
there is no God, or that man is his own God. 
It denies the possibility of the supernatural, the 
possibility of an historical Christianity, nay, the 
very possibility of a personal God, that is, of an 

of the Christian records, at a time when his rationalistic doubts 
were stronger than at a subsequent period, he says, notwithstanding 
his admissicm of the fragmentary and eTen imperfect character of 
the Gospels, " But here, as in every historical subject, when I con- 
templated the immeasurable gulf between the narrative and the 
facts narrated, this disturbed me no further. He whose earthly 
life and sorrows were depicted, had for me a perfectly real existence, 
and his whole history had the same reality, even if it were not re- 
lated with literal exactness in any single point. Hence, also, the 
fundamental fact of miracles, which, according to my conviction, 
must be conceded, unless we adopt the not merely incomprehensi- 
ble, but absurd hypothesis, that the Holiest was a deceiver, and his 
disciples either dupes or liars, and that deceivers had preached a holy 
religion, in which self-renunciation, is every thing, and in which there 
is nothing tending towards the erection of a priestly rule, nothing 
that can be acceptable to vicious inclinations. As regards a miracle, 
in the strictest sense, it really only requires an unprejudiced and 
penetrating study of nature to see that those related are as far as 
possible from absurdity, and a comparison with legends, or the pre- 
tended miracles of other religions, to perceive by what a different 



THE MYTHIC THEORY. 287 

actual divine Intelligence, who may interest 
himself in man, and who, in the plenitude of 
his love, may come to us as an incarnation, and 
reunite us to himself. 

As we proceed with our inquiries, we shall 
find constantly accumulating evidence of the 
absurdity of the mythic theory. The more we 
investigate the life of Christ, and the history 
thence resulting, the more we shall be satisfied 
of his supernatural character and mission. 

It will not be necessary, however, to enter into 
any formal details in reference to the public min- 
istry of Christ, and especially the closing scenes 

spirit they are animated." — Life and Letters, i. pp. 339, 340. At 
a later period of his life, when his views were more mature, he gives 
us the following, as reported by Neander, (Life of Jesus,) who hailed 
them as "golden icords from one of the greatest men of modern 
times." (i In my opinion," says he, "he is not a Protestant Chris- 
tian who does not receive the historical facts of Christ's earthly life 
in their literal acceptation, with all its miracles, as equally authentic 
with any event recorded in history, and whose belief in them is not 
aisfrm and tranquil as his belief in the latter ; who has not the most 
absolute faith in the articles of the Apostles' creed, taken in their 
grammatical sense, who does not consider every doctrine and every 
precept of the 2sew Testament as undoubted divine revelation, in 
the sense of the Christians of the first century, who knew nothing 
of a theopheustia. Moreover, a Christianity after the fashion of the 
modern philosophers and pantheists, without a personal God, with- 
out an immortality, without human individuality, without historical 
faith, is no Christianity at all to me, though it may be intellectual, 
very ingenious philosophy. I have often said that I don't know 
what to do with a metaphysical God, and that I will have none but 
the God of the Bible, who is heart to heart with us." 



288 cnmsT in history. 

of his wonderful career, as these are presumed 
to be familiar to our readers. We shall group 
all we have to say, in reference to the whole, 
under two heads, namely his Teaching and 
INIiracles. 



CHAPTER XII. 

TEACHING. 

If it be atheism to exclude God from the realm 
of matter, it is equally atheism to exclude him 
from the realm of mind. As a supreme and 
universal Spirit, which the Scriptures teach him 
to be, he is "all and in all." The "Father of 
light," he is also the " Father of spirits," from 
whom " cometh every good and every perfect 
gift." Man, indeed, is endowed with reason 
and will, and thence has the power of choice, on 
which account he may morally depart from God ; 
still he lives in God, and God lives in him as the 
essence of his being; so that, in order to be 
happy, man must return to God — in other words, 
recognize God as the very fountain of his spirit- 
ual life. In this sense, existence is not life; in 
the latter lies the element of love, and thence of 
happiness. Existence, indeed, may become the 
deepest curse, for it may be burdened with 
spiritual hate, which is death. In the world of 
mind, then, God reigns through the free choice 
and affection of each individual spirit. Har* 
mony, interior and indestructible, is possible only 
through faith and love. 

25 < 289 > 



290 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

This is the essential teaching of Divine Reve- 
lation, as it is the essential teaching of nature, 
could we read it aright. It is the foundation 
principle of Christianity. In Jesus Christ this 
great truth is incarnated. It lives and glows in 
his wondrous career, as the Word of God, the 
Redeemer of men. " I in them, and Thou in 
me." In this central unity, which is God, all 
souls must converge. " This is the true God 
and eternal life." 

Hence we find our Savior equally at home in 
the bosom of nature and in the bosom of God 
— in the inner and in the outer world. He is 
"the light of the world." He is "the life of 
man." In him dwelleth "all the fulness of the 
Godhead bodily." He possesses "all power in 
heaven and on earth." 

So that Christ is ever found standing at the 
centre of things, whether in the sphere of matter 
or of mind, of history or of religion, " drawing 
all men," and not only " all men," but all angels, 
"unto him." By him "were all things created, 
visible and invisible" — he is "before all things, 
and by him all things consist," as Paul expressly 
teaches. That is, all things find their centre in 
him, come to order and harmony in him.* 

♦ This, as stated in a former part of this work, is the import of 
the remarkable term consist, (Greek cwicTrjKev,) literally "in him all 
things stand together." 



TEACHING. 291 

Men often acknowledge the supremacy of God 
in the world of external or material forms, but 
deny it in that of interior and spiritual forces. 
They discern the action of his creative and reno- 
vating spirit in the seasons. Joyfully they sing, — 

" O God, thou art the life and light 
Of all this wondrous world we see ; 
Its glow by day, its smile by night, 

Are but reflections caught from thee ; " 

• 

but they frequently close against him, both theo- 
retically and practically, the domain of the soul, 
and deny the very possibility of a new creation, 
or renovation there. Hence their alienation and 
irreligion, even amid the forms and symbols of 
worship. Hence, also, their rejection of a pro- 
found spiritual religion, of real union with God, 
and that interior life fitly called divine. 

But our Savior aims, both by precept and 
example, to bring men to the practical acknowl- 
edgment of God's supremacy, not only in nature, 
but in the soul; so that, spiritually, they may live 
in God, as God lives in them. 

This is the true coming of the kingdom of 
heaven, not with outward movement, or me- 
chanical force, but by inward life and spiritual 
control. " The kingdom of God cometh not with 
observation ; neither do men say, Lo, here ! or Lo, 
there ! but the kingdom of God is within you." 

Christ does not despise the outward, except 



292 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

when it is forced into competition with the in- 
ward. On earth, he seems imbosomed peacefully 
in nature, which ever does him homage. Nay, 
more, he imbosoms himself in society. It seems 
his natural home. Rejected and despised by his 
apostate countrymen, he yet comes to them as a 
brother and a friend. His death itself does not 
remove him from the race. He abides there by 
his spirit. Through this means he organizes a 
church, or spiritual family, in which he may 
dwell, bound together by love, and observant of 
all holy precepts. Being himself the embodiment 
of the divine, he would ever give a beautiful body 
to a beautiful soul; so that the church is anal- 
ogous to his body, and is even called by this 
name. Thus he has enshrined the kingdom, in 
its essential powers, in fair forms and usages, to 
be observed by his followers to the end of time. 
In this way? the reality within expresses itself by 
the image, or utterance without. But the interior 
power is first, as the soul is first, or as God, who 
is a spirit, is first, The spirit must generate the 
form, as God creates the universe, or renews the 
face of the earth, in the form of plants and 
flowers. 

Clearly, then, the kingdom of heaven is in- 
ward, spiritual, immortal ; and in that kingdom 
God, " the Father of us all," must be " Alpha 
and Omega, the beginning and the end." 



TEACHING. 295 

This is only another mode of expressing the 
fact, that a religion, to be good for any thing, 
must be a religion of spiritual or vital force — a 
religion of inward light and love, all-comprehend- 
ing and imperishable. 

Such a religion, however, must be taught both 
by word and deed — that is, by the word within, 
and the word without — for all action is a kind of 
word. It must embody and exemplify itself in a 
divine and human life. God and man must be 
seen in company ; the union, secret and inde- 
structible, must be exhibited at once in speech 
and in action. 

For this reason, Christ lives as the incarnation 
or embodiment of God. The Son reveals the 
Father. The one is the measure and manifesta- 
tion of the other. Through the Son, the Father 
communicates his life to the world. Thus God 
comes, as Christ comes. His reign is acted into 
the historic life of man — into the life of each 
Christian soul. So that now "the tabernacle 
of God is with men." We dwell in him, he 
dwells in us. All are one, as God and Christ 
are one. 

A religion, then, which stops short of God, 
and a true reign of heaven in the soul, has neither 
truth nor power. That only is real and divine 
which first brings God to man, and then brings 
man to God. Harmony, deep and eternal, is 
25* 



291 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

found only in the God-man, and the ineffable 
union thence secured between the soul of a 
believer and the Spirit of God — a result accom- 
plished by a reconciling and regenerating power 
on the part of Christ, by a penitent and confiding 
faith on the part of the Christian. " God is in 
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." 

How plain, then, the truth of our proposi- 
tion, that Christ presents himself to us as an 
infinite central power, from which flows a spirit- 
ual influence to redeem the lost, and thus consti- 
tute a sacred organization, which may be the 
light and glory of the world ! 

All this is expressed by Christ in a few preg- 
nant sentences, which he uttered in the form of 
supplication, just before his death. " That they 
all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I 
in thee, that they also may be one in us ; that 
the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 
And the glory which thou gavest me I have 
given them ; that they may be one, even as ive 
are one ; I in them, and thou in me, that they may 
be made perfect in one? 

The same great truth has been uttered in all 
ages by the church universal, in that prayer 
which Christ taught his disciples, the model 
and form of all true supplication : " Our Father 
who art in heaven — hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as 



TEACHING. 295 

it is done in heaven" This, then, is the key- 
note of our Savior's teaching. 

True to this grand idea, which, even as a 
conception, is original and perfect, like the sun 
shining by its own light, Jesus Christ went forth 
" to teach and to preach " amid the hills and 
valleys, and in the cities and villages of Judea. 
He addressed himself chiefly to the common 
people, in language of marvellous simplicity and 
force. He spoke to them respecting God and 
the soul, sin and holiness, life and death, duty 
and immortality, as man had never before spoken. 
And not only so, but he looked all he said, acted 
all he said ; so that he himself was a living 
Word, an embodied, eternal Discourse. 

So striking and authoritative was his teaching, 
and yet so simple and clear, that all were com- 
pelled to acknowledge its force. Attracting to 
himself a few childlike souls, mostly fishermen, 
who longed for the coming of the kingdom, of 
which they cherished only dim conceptions, he 
made known to them gradually the design of his 
mission, and the principles of his kingdom. The 
terms used are so familiar and translucent, and 
yet so perfect and full, that while, from our famil- 
iarity with them, they seem the merest common- 
places, they yet contain the grandest and deep- 
est verities. But they would never have become 
commonplaces, even to us, had they not pos- 



296 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

sessed, at first, the most complete originality, as 
well as the most touching simplicity. Like the 
unchanging stars, familiar to us from childhood, 
they are more than they seem. Their beauty is 
of the infinite. Back of these luminous points 
lie undiscovered worlds. 

Indeed, the language of Christ is not that of 
the schools, far less of the rhetoricians. It is 
scarcely language at all. So transparent is it, 
you see the things rather than the words. In 
fact, it is only when you see the things rather 
than the words, that you understand him. 
" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God." 
" There is joy in heaven, among the angels of 
God, over one sinner that repenteth." " Our 
Father." " Take no thought [care] for the mor- 
row. Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
grow. They toil not, neither do they spin ; and 
yet I say unto you, that Solomon, in all his 
glory, was not arrayed like one of these." 
" Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto 
you." " In my Father's house are many man- 
sions ; if it were not so I would have told you. 
I go to prepare a place for you." " He that hath 
seen me hath seen the Father." " God is a 
spirit." " Labor not for the meat that perisheth, 
but for that which endureth to eternal life." 
u Two men went up unto the temple to pray, 
the one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The 



TEACHING. 297 

Pharisee stood by himself and said, ' God, I 
thank thee that I am not as other men are, un- 
just, extortioners, or even as this publican.' But 
the publican, standing afar off, would not so 
much as lift up his eyes unto heaven, but smote 
upon his breast, and cried, ' God be mercifal 
to me a sinner. " How simple all this, but how 
full, how significant ! 

The teaching of Christ is that of inspiration, 
or, as we term it, of revelation, similar, yet far 
superior, to that of nature ; new and strange, but 
simple and striking, like the well-known earth 
and sky, in winch all forms are blended with a 
familiar, yet mystic beauty. Indeed, it is the 
utterance of that eternal Wisdom (Logos) from 
which are all things, natural and divine. " Never 
man spake like this man." Sometimes in the 
synagogues, but oftener in the open air, by the 
wayside or by the well, on the mountain or by 
the margin of the lake, in the shadow of the 
temple or in the depth of the wilderness, he ut- 
tered his words of life. Nothing could be more 
natural, nothing more thrilling and impressive. 

The originality, completeness, and imaginative 
beauty of his parables, in which the highest, 
most abstract, spiritual truths are embodied in 
familiar forms, which have all the vividness of 
life, must have greatly struck the minds of the 
people. Containing unknown depths of spiritual 



298 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

truth, they are yet simple and beautiful as the 
falling dew, or the blowing clover. God and the 
soul, in their mysterious relations, duty and hap- 
piness, sin and misery, the infinite and immortal 
state, regeneration and resurrection, the renova- 
tion of society, the restitution of all things, the 
everlasting life, the everlasting death, all are in- 
carnated in these marvellous inspirations. The 
invisible world is made as patent as the visible; 
mysterious, indeed, as all things are mysterious, 
stretching away into the everlasting immensities, 
yet real, palpable, glowing. Every thing exter- 
nal and internal is set in motion ; all around us, 
within us, and above us, trembles with life. The 
most delicate and atTecting relations, the deepest 
feelings, the most amazing facts and changes in 
the realm of spirit, are bodied forth in shapes of 
grace and power. 

Indeed, all outward things, in the parabolic 
and figurative language of Christ, are made to 
symbolize and describe invisible realities. The 
elder dispensations, the types and shadows of 
the Jewish worship, the temple with its mystic 
forms and magnificent ritual, all external changes 
and usages, earth and sky, mountains and 
streams, plants and animals, are made to range 
themselves, in figurative beauty, around his mar- 
vellous revelations. 

But what is most peculiar in the teaching of 



TEACHING. 299 

Christ is, that the whole is but an image or re- 
production of himself. All that is human, all 
that is divine, meets in him, and thence utters 
itself in his words and deeds. Here is all the 
past, both of history and prophecy; here all the 
present, whether of earth or heaven, of natural or 
supernatural ; here all the future, with its amaz- 
ing changes, its restitutions and resurrections. 
In him dwelleth all the fulness of the universe, 
because " all the fulness of the Godhead ; " 
power, purity, love, beauty, blessedness, — in a 
word, all the possibilities of the human and the 
divine. 

Thus it is only as we come into fellowship 
with Christ that we come into fellowship with 
God and the universe, and feel that deeper love 
which is the harmony of all worlds. " I am the 
way, the truth, and the life." " No man cometh 
unto the Father but by me." " The Father 
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into 
his hand." " I in them, and thou in me." " I 
give my life for the world." " I give unto them 
eternal life." " Believe in God, believe also in 
me." " My Father will love you, and we will 
come and make our abode with you." " I and 
the Father are one." 

Hence the force of his own most significant 
explanation : " This is life eternal, to know thee, 
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou 



300 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

hast sent." " This," says the apostle, as if re- 
peating the Master's words, "this is the true 
God, and eternal life." 

This leads us to remark, that the life of Christ 
is a unit, as his character is a unit, or as God is 
a unit. Hence his doctrine is a unit, also ; for 
it has its great central principle, like the gravita- 
tion of nature, from which all other principles 
diverge, and to which they all return. This cen- 
tral, all-comprehending truth is, that God is All 
and in All ; and being such, that " He is recon- 
ciling THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF." 

It may be viewed, however, as it is taught in 
the words of our Savior and his disciples, who 
derived it from him, in its various details and ap- 
plications. 

What, in this view, then, are some of the lead- 
ing principles taught by Christ ? 

1. The "allness" of God, including his abso- 
lute spirituality, supremacy, and eternity* 

2. The personality and paternity of God — 
" Our Father who art in heaven" 

3. The spirituality of man, as formed in the divine 
image; the consequent possibility of his union 
and fellowship with God, and his immortality. 

4. The atonement ; that is, reconciliation or re- 
union between God and man, through Christ as a 
mediator ; thence the doctrine of " justification by 
faith alone, ' faith being the link which unites the 



TEACHING. 301 

soul to Christ, and through Christ to God — u I in 
them, and thou in me ; " whence spring the free- 
dom, strength, and joy of the Christian state* 

5. Regeneration, or the neiv and eternal life in 
God — " born again " — " born from above " — u a 
neio [spiritual] creation in Christ Jesus." 

6. The brotherhood of man, or the unity of the 
church — " one Lord, one faith, one baptism" 

7. Eternity, or the tendency of all things to 
fixed and permanent states ; in other words, the 
final, absolute issue of all things according to 
their nature. 

8. Responsibility, individual and common, in- 
volving the possible eternal divergence of charac- 
ter and doom, being the eternal life, or the eternal 
death. 

9. The resurrection of the dead, or the com- 
pleted perfection of the body and the soul ; that 
is, of the tvhole nature of the renovated man — 
the earthly, carnal, and perishable being exchanged 
for the heavenly, the spiritual, and immortal. 

10. Grace, or the Holy Spirit, a modification 
of the doctrine of the life in God, whence 

* The atonement, or reconciliation, is made by intervention and 
sacrifice. The sacrifice, of course, is voluntary and vicarious, that is, 
it is the suffering of the innocent for the guilty, the sinless for the 
sinful; not, indeed, as a quid pro quo, but as a prerequisite to union. 
On this ground the doctrine of mediation and sacrifice is funda- 
mental. And, what is singular, it is recognized in all religions. See, 
upon this subject, Appendix, note E. 

26 



302 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

prayer, or the communion of the finite with the 
Infinite, the spirit of man with the Spirit of God, 

11. Charity, or the doctrine of overcoming evil 
with good, the method of Christ and of God, 

1*2. The permanence of the churchy or the or- 
ganization of believers in Christ, as their cen- 
tral animating spirit, made visible in holy uses 
and worship. 

13. The possible renovation of the race; on 
the ground of ivhich we may cherish the hope of 
universal peace, and the brotherhood not only of 
individuals, bid of nations. This would be the 
triumph of God in society. Then, not only in 
reference to himself, or his absolute nature and 
eternal purpose, but in reference to the race, and 
the actual condition of things, God would be all 
and in all* 

The sum of the whole is, consecration of all 
things to God, and the restitution of all things in 
God, a new law and a new life, a new body and 
a new soul, new heavens and a new earth ; in 
its practical, every-day application, briefly and 



* It is on the ground that society ought to be regarded as a divine 
institution, yet to be planted on its proper basis, and to subserve its 
proper end. Under God, therefore, all righteous governments are 
to be established, and all good and wholesome laws enacted. This 
would not be the union of church and state, as ordinarily understood ; 
but the church and the state, in their separate spheres, guarded and 
governed by eternal principles, and thus aiding and strengthening 
each other. 



TEACHING. 303 

■ 

popularly expressed by Christ himself in his ex- 
position of the law, " Thou shalt love the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as 
thyself. On these two commandments hang all 
the law and the prophets." 

But the great truths taught by original minds 
are not at first received and appreciated by the 
mass of mankind. They are seldom thoroughly 
understood even by their immediate disciples. 
Thus, while the common people heard him 
gladly on account of his simplicity, purity, and 
force, such was the grossness of the age, such 
the carnality of its views, that few, perhaps none, 
adequately understood his doctrine, or his life. 
Its elementary principles, however, were lodged, 
as seed, in the hearts of a few thoughtful, Heaven- 
guided men. Checking their carnal views, cor- 
recting their prejudices, winning their affections, 
he gradually led them forth from the darkness 
of corrupted Judaism into the pure light of 
eternal truth. His public or more striking acts, 
his miracles, as we call them, (of which more in 
the next chapter,) at first few and unimposing, 
though most significant, were just enough to 
attract attention to his claims, and attest the 
divinity of his mission. They were all distin- 
guished by their godlike and benevolent charac- 
ter. Like his parables, they were the expression 
of his nature, and had a profound spiritual im- 



304 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

port. The poor, the maimed, the halt, the sor- 
rowful, the blind, the dumb, the paralytic, the 
lunatic, the lost, followed him, and " he healed 
them all." But while healing their bodily mal- 
adies, he never failed to administer to their spir- 
itual wants, thus teaching his disciples, in all 
ages, that religion is intended for the redemp- 
tion of humanity, in all its aspects and interests, 
being fitted to heal both the body and the soul, 
both the church and society. 

Christ counteracted no laws of nature, which 
are laws of God, or the modes in which God 
acts in nature and among men ; but he gave 
them infinite force, and threw T them into new and 
marvellous combinations, the result of which was 
calm, not storm, health, not sickness, life, not 
death. Perhaps we may say that he introduced 
new laws, or new modes of communicating the 
central power, which is life. Thence we find him 
healing, quickening, controlling, and blessing both 
the bodies and the souls of men ; in a word, bring- 
ing out, in new and glorious manifestations, the 
indwelling might of divinity. Thus he received 
the testimony of unprejudiced witnesses, who 
said, " He hath done all things well." But the 
outward, in his case, is only the symbol and ex- 
pression of the inward ; for it is the inward re- 
demption, the inward health, the spiritual and 
everlasting life, mainly, which Christ commu- 
nicates. 



TEACHING. 305 

In this way he went about " doing good " — a 
mode of teaching the most impressive. The Pla- 
tonic philosophers call the great primal and eter- 
nal Essence the First Good, while his Logos, or 
Word, is the Son, or expression of the First Good. 
We call Christ Emmanuel, which is, God vritli as; 
and as such, he is the embodied Good, which 
is the same as to say, the incarnate God. And 
what else can he teach, what else can he do 
on earth, but good, the highest proof of divin- 
ity ? Thus every where he preaches, both by 
word and deed, righteousness, charity, and peace, 
directs the attention of his followers to the pa- 
ternal character of God, the universal brother- 
hood of man, and inspires them with that holy 
love which unites them to God and to one an- 
other, in eternal bonds. 

Finally, Christ crowns his teaching by dying 
upon the cross, dying, " the just for the unjust." 
This is the triumph of divine goodness, this the 
enthronement of disinterested love. In this mys- 
terious act, to use the language of a great poet, 
" the divine depth of sorrow lies hid." * " Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do! " 
There speaks the heart of infinite grace. 

This is teaching, this is acting like a God. 

Surely the world can never forget the lesson 
of the cross. 

* Goethe. 

26* 



806 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

How the thought thrills us, thrills unnumbered 
millions, who softly but exultingly sing,— 

« In the cross of Christ I glory, 

Towering o'er the wrecks of time ; 
All the light of sacred story 
Gathers round its head sublime." 



CHAPTER XIII 

MIRACLES* 

The works of such a being as we suppose 
Christ to be, will possess a special divine charac- 
ter and import. They cannot, therefore, be con- 
sidered apart from himself, or apart from each 
other. They belong to a supernatural system 
for the restoration of man to the lost image of 
God. Hence, in our humble judgment, a serious 
error has been committed in the discussion of 
this subject, by isolating the miracles from the 
essence of Christianity, as itself supernatural, 
just as if miracles did not form an integral part 
of the gospel dispensation, whose fair and mas- 
sive proportions can be estimated only when con- 
templated as a divine whole. The majority who 
have written upon miracles have vindicated their 
title to our respect, as the external defence of 
Christianity, treating them simply as redoubts and 
outposts of the sacred citadel ; on which account 
they have seemed to reason in a circle, proving 



* This chapter, with some additions, appeared in the July number 
pf the Christian Review for 1853. 

C307) 



308 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Christianity by the miracles, and the miracles by 
Christianity. They have admitted, on Hume's 
own ground, that no amount of testimony will 
establish a lying wonder, or what may be termed 
an immoral miracle, that is, a miracle wrought 
in defence of error and imposture, all of them 
taking it for granted that such miracles may be 
performed through satanic or other equivalent 
agency. 

Hence they have been compelled to defend. 
Christianity by that w r hich Christianity alone 
can authenticate as divine. Having courageous- 
ly fought the battle of miracles, and, as they 
supposed, gained the victory, they have found 
themselves obliged to fight it all over again in 
defending Christianity itself. Thus it has come 
to pass, in the estimation of some of the ablest 
speculative thinkers, that, instead of being a de- 
fence to Christianity, miracles have proved its 
greatest hinderance. For, without the essence 
of Christianity, as a religion of purity and power, 
miracles, as supernatural manifestations, would 
be utterly indefensible. Some devout men have 
been able to retain the miracles only by means 
of the perfect and supernatural religion with 
which they are associated ; a striking instance 
of which may be found in the case of the elo- 
quent Schleiermacher. 

For the same reason, sceptical writers, like 



MIRACLES. 309 

Hume, Spinoza, Comte, Emerson, Parker, and 
others, have readily disposed of technical and 
isolated miracles as simple prodigies, or, as they 
choose to call them, " violations of the laws of 
nature." Standing alone, outside of Christiani- 
ty, they have easily swept them aside by the phi- 
losophy of " nature," or of immutable law, 
whether material or ideal. Even those of them 
who believe in a personal God, as Parker pro- 
fesses to do, have no hesitation in denying mira- 
cles, in themselves considered ; for God, in their 
view, cannot be supposed to violate or even 
suspend the law of his own universe, that is, the 
common course and constitution of things. Mir- 
acles, even if admitted as possible, on the theory 
of these men, stand alone, and require for their 
establishment a peculiar kind and amount of 
proof. Hence they set themselves to weaken 
the force of that proof, often with apparent suc- 
cess, long before th^ gospel, as a system, is 
touched at all. Their assumption, too, about 
" the violation of nature," which, in some sense, 
may be considered impossible, is made plausible 
on the same ground ; so that the Christian faith 
seems demolished before a single blow has fallen 
upon its proper fabric. 

Let us pass, however, into the heart of the 
magnificent structure of our common Christi- 
anity, founded upon the Rock of Ages, and 



310 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

lowering high towards the illuminated heavens ; 
and even if we admit that the miracles, as such, 
are irs outer buttresses, we shall see, at a glance, 
that they are a part of the whole, and only add 
to its symmetry and strength. The materials, 
too, are precisely the same, though the interior 
portions may present a more delicate architectu- 
ral finish ; for they are all the product of a celes- 
tial hand. The whole, as supernatural and divine, 
must stand or fall together. 

Is there a personal God ? Has he a distinct, 
productive, all-controlling will ? In other words, 
is he, the all-creative One, a Spirit, immanent, 
it may be, in nature, and yet superior to nature ? 
Is man, too, though finite, a distinct, productive 
will, a rational and responsible agent, formed in 
the image of God ? Is the outer universe, then, 
or what we call nature, with all its forces, dy- 
namic or mechanical, under God, a mere agent 
or instrument ; and can God control it with the 
sovereignty of a master ? If so, then creations 
and re-creations, vital changes and transforma- 
tions, new species and new eras, renovations, 
redemptions, miracles, as supernatural divine 
manifestations, are possible, are probable. The 
spiritual, the supernatural, the religious, are all 
possible and real. 

Here we have a foundation on which to base 
our reasonings in reference to Christianity, which 



MIRACLES. 311 

we claim to be, under God, a supernatural sys- 
tem, a new beginning or spiritual creation, 
through the medium of the Divine Logos, or in- 
carnate Word, in which miracles play a most 
important part, not in violation of nature, but as 
above and beyond nature, being the more direct 
and tangible demonstrations of the life-giving or 
creative power. 

But " to the law and the testimony ; " for in 
this matter we must correct and control all 
speculative reasonings by a reference to the facts 
in the case. How stands the matter in the 
Christian records? This is our first inquiry. 
It is proper, however, to remark, that our word 
miracles (which simply signifies wonders, though, 
in the use we now make of it, involving the idea 
of the supernatural or divine) is somewhat in- 
definite, and scarcely covers the whole series of 
supernatural acts or works, by which our Lord 
not only attested, but accomplished, his mission. 
In the New Testament, quite a variety of terms 
are used to designate them, not simply as won- 
ders, but as special divine acts, such as might 
naturally constitute or accompany a divine mis- 
sion, They are called " signs," as it were di- 
vine signatures or seals, "gifts," " gifts of the 
Holy Ghost," " powers," " works," " mighty 
works," that is, special divine operations, indi- 
cating the presence and sanction of the Deity. 



312 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

Iii brief, they are such " wonders " as might be 
expected from the " Wonderful." 

Though these may be represented as the signs 
or attestations of a divine mission, they are not 
exclusively such ; and hence, in the department 
of Christian evidences, too much stress has 
been laid upon their merely physical or external 
aspects. They have been used as the main, and 
sometimes as the exclusive, proof of divine reve- 
lation. Whereas the character of Christ, who 
in reference to the miracles is the sun amid the 
stars, is the principal evidence. His very pres- 
ence among men, like a new sun in the heavens, 
is sufficient proof of his divinity. The miracles 
can only be a collateral evidence, and in many 
cases, perhaps, chiefly useful to those who be- 
held them. They are parts of a great system, 
whose divine grandeur and perfection must be 
obvious to every well-constituted mind. 

At any rate, they ought never to be regarded 
as insulated facts, but rather as the natural ex- 
pression and accompaniment of a divine mission. 
That admitted as a possibility, the miracles fol- 
low as a matter of course. 

For what is it we naturally expect in such a 
manifestation of God ? The godlike, of course ; 
and if the godlike, the wonderful — nay, far 
more than the wonderful, the omnipotent, the all- 
beautiful and good. 



MIRACLES. 313 

Such miracles, though transcending nature, 
would not be contrary to nature ; for nature, as 
we use the term, is only God's method of acting 
in the sphere and time with which we happen to 
be familiar. In its philosophical sense, it is but 
the aggregate of those natural forces or laws by 
which the infinite Spirit acts in the visible uni- 
verse. Nature then is only a part. God is the 
whole. While a in all," he is yet " above all." 
Certainly his powers are not exhausted in na- 
ture ; over and above all its methods and all its 
forces, he may possess infinite methods, bound- 
less resources. 

Some inconsiderate theologians, and almost 
all sceptics, as we have intimated, have repre- 
sented the Christian miracles as " a violation of 
the laws of nature," whereas they are only " over 
and above nature." It is only in the sense of 
being divine, that we deem them transcendent 
and wonderful. 

If any thing is contrary to nature, it is sin. 
That violates the divine law, that opposes the 
course and constitution of nature, introducing 
among men disorder and death. So terrible is 
its influence, that it has become a power in the 
world, having the force of a law, to which we 
sometimes give the name of nature, because, 
from the force of habit, it has become a " second 
nature:" after all, it is most unnatural and ac- 
27 



314 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

cursed. It opposes God and goodness, darkens 
and desolaies the soul of man. 

Sin, then, is disturbance, or anarchy, and in 
this sense a violation of all laws, natural and 
divine. For its removal, a counteracting force is 
needed, a force above nature, and yet in accord- 
ance with nature, a force of renewal and regen- 
eration. It is a great and fatal mistake, how- 
ever, to confine the miraculous or divine to mere 
physical or external manifestations. Its highest 
sphere is the spiritual. Here its life-giving and 
transforming energies are chiefly seen. Christ 
himself, the truly divine, is the great miracle ; all 
other miracles are streams from this fountain, 
rays from this sun. 

The whole subject, generalized, presents itself 
to us in the light of the following question: 
What may be reasonably expected in an incar- 
nation of the Deity, such as Christ claims to be ? 
AH, doubtless, which is peculiar to God, and 
the great object to be served by his advent 
among men. 

God is the omnipotent Creator ; hence works 
or manifestations of creative power. 

God is the all-good ; hence manifestations of 
boundless love and pity. 

God is the life-giver ; hence miracles of heal- 
ing, of revival and resurrection. 

In a word, the whole mission of such a being 



MIRACLES. 315 

would be a new moral or divine creation, and 
thence a life-giving or transforming power. 
Negatively, he would cast out the demon, the 
incarnated, indwelling spirit of evil; positively, 
he would bring all heaven, with its love and 
peace, into the soul. 

In which case the inward and spiritual would 
be symbolized and expressed by the outward and 
physical. All nature would wait upon its God. 
So that works of atonement, reconciliation, and 
regeneration would naturally be associated with 
works of physical control, of healing and resur- 
rection in the outer or material sphere. 

Thus any kind of wonderful or supernatural 
works would not be a proof of a divine mission; 
and many signs of a striking but mechanical 
character would not be found in it. Such works 
the Messiah might decline, even as proofs of his 
divinity.* Besides, he would attach, as we 
ought, more importance to his higher spiritual 
works, which link themselves immediately to the 
great end of his mission, than to any thing ex- 
ternal, however striking. He might even refuse 
to work appropriate external miracles, when he 
perceived that they would not subserve his great 



* "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, [such 
a sign as that referred to,] but there shall no [such] sign b« 
given it." 



316 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

i 

spiritual design, or only minister to selfish appe- 
tites and carnal views.* 

The main thing, then, in such a mission, would 
be the new spiritual force or life, embodied in the 
person of the Redeemer, and imparted to the 
race — the holy love, the eternal purity and joy 
given by his incarnation and atonement to man- 
kind. 

In fine, the mission of Christ, if divine, would 
be a new spiritual beginning, of which the first 
beginning, in the physical creation, supplies a 
beautiful type or symbol. The miracles cluster- 
ing around it, illustrating or enforcing it, would 
be only its outer garniture, or rather its natural 
and graceful accompaniment, like the song of 
the morning stars, which hailed the new-made 
world. 

An inquiry here suggests itself: Might false or 
imaginary miracles mingle themselves in the mere 
histories of such a life ? The thing is not impos- 
sible, but the proof of the fact must be given. It 
is, indeed, quite conceivable how that, in subse- 
quent time, and as the mere human result of such 
a mission, imaginary miracles might be sup- 
posed, and some natural events mistaken for 



* Hence our Savior refused to gratify Herod in this respect. On 
one occasion it is said, " he did no mighty works there, because 
of their unbelief." It would have been " casting pearls before 
swine." 



MIRACLES. 317 

miracles. We do not here say that such is the 
case ; we only say that such is not impossible, 
perhaps not improbable. But this would not 
affect the argument in favor of the great life- 
giving powers, the miracles of renovation and 
resurrection, which form the substratum of Chris- 
tianity. 

It is important here to remark, that all mira- 
cles, or all events claimed to be supernatural, are 
not credible. In ordinary circumstances, they 
might be regarded as positively incredible. For 
then they are effects without an adequate cause. 
On the other hand, it does not follow that all 
miracles are incredible. Indeed, some events of 
this sort, in themselves, may be highly credible; 
for they may bear the stamp of divinity on their 
very front. So far from being effects without a 
cause, they may be presumed to have the highest 
cause in the universe, that is, God. The spuri- 
ous article, however abundant, by no means 
proves that the genuine is not to be found some- 
where. Were all other religions mythical, and 
all other miracles false, the religion of Christ, and 
the miracles of Christ, might be real and divine. 
That they are real and divine is proved by the 
facts in the case. They are altogether peculiar; 
they are such as might naturally be expected; 
they are worthy of their divine origin ; they are 
such as must ever be found in connection with 
27* 



318 CHRIST IN niSTORY. 

a divine mission, nay, such as must ever consti- 
tute a divine mission. For we return here to 
>ur fundamental position, namely? that Christ is 
*- God manifest in the flesh,*' and his whole life, 
from beginning to end, supernatural and divine. 
It can be regarded as consisting of different 
parts, and some of its elements, taken alone, may 
be called natural and human; after all, it is one 
in its more interior characteristics, in which view 
it far transcends any thing among men. As a 
whole, it is supernatural and divine, and thence 
the means of a new spiritual life in the world. 

The whole question of miracles, in its funda- 
mental relations, thus turns on the possibility of 
the supernatural. Such possibility the oppo- 
nents of Christianity generally deny, those of 
them at least who make the slightest pretensions 
to philosophical thought. 

But the supernatural, as connected with Chris- 
tianity, is equivalent to a new creation, or the 
exertion of a divine creative power. For exam- 
ple, the birth of Christ is a new beginning or cre- 
ation. He comes into the world as a divine 01 
supernatural agent. So also the changing of 
water into wine, the restoration of sight to the 
blind and of life to the dead, the feeding of five 
thousand persons with a few loaves and fishec. 
and the resurrection of Christ himself, are aii 
creative acts, or acts equivalent to creative. 



MIRACLES. 319 

Now, the possibility of the supernatural, in 
this view, can be denied consistently only by 
those who deny the possibility of all divine cre- 
ations. If, for example, they deny the existence 
of God, or a supreme creative Intelligence, or 
if they maintain the existence of such a God as 
cannot freely and intelligently create, they can 
deny the possibility of miracles. This, in fact, is 
the position assumed by all the abler opponents 
of Christianity as a supernatural scheme — Spi- 
noza, Hume, Hegel, and Strauss. 

Hence miracles have been rejected, first of all, 
on the ground of atheism. Of course with the 
class of theorists who take this monstrous posi- 
tion, we can have no discussion here, except to 
remind them, that modern science has actually 
proved the fact of successive creations. Geology 
has set this matter forever at rest.* We might 
also remind them, that man, in some sense a 
productive will, and so far capable of acting 
above what we call nature, or the outward cre- 
ation, is capable of certain acts at least analogous 
to the supernatural. And if a finite intelligence 
can act thus, can intervene at certain points, in 
the movement of nature, by means of new com- 
binations of power, and thus perform wonders, 

* All the great geological writers maintain this — Lyell, Agas- 
siz, Brogniart, Buckland, Murchison, Mantell, Miller, Hitchcock, 
a»d others. 



320 CHRIST IN niSTORT. 

which appear to his fellows, as in the case of the 
steam engine and the electric telegraph, all but 
supernatural, why may not an infinite Intelligence 
intervene, by miracles so stupendous and thrilling 
as to be equivalent to the creation of worlds ? 
But atheists usually deny the freedom and spirit- 
uality of man, as well as the existence of a 
supreme creative Power, making man the mere 
machine of the universal machine which they 
call nature. 

For the same reason, miracles have been 
denied on the ground of materialism. Reject- 
ing the existence of spirit, and even of thought 
and volition, except as the production of matter, 
such theorists maintain the absolute material 
identity of all things. If there be a God, matter 
is that God, universal matter, or aught else they 
may choose to call it, governed by necessary and 
eternal laws, consequently revolving in an endless 
cycle, without the possibility of new beginnings, 
supernatural changes, or creations. Perhaps such 
men do not positively say what matter is ; they 
speak only of its laws, and thence, as in the case 
of Auguste Comte, refer all things to the uniform 
and eternal action of necessary forces, in which 
religion is a necessary, though temporary develop- 
ment, in the "hierarchie des sciences positives." 
Of course, in such a system, there can be no place 
for miracles. Both God and Christ, and even 



MIRACLES. 321 

man, as responsible spiritual agents, are denied. 
Man is but a link in the eternal chain, a bubble 
on the surface of the ever-flowing stream. 

Is it not clear, however, that such persons de- 
ceive themselves by words ? Matter, they say, 
is the whole. Then the question arises, What 
is this matter of which they predicate so much ? 
The question is not answered by calling it, as 
most persons do, a substance, formal, limited, 
tangible, divisible, &c. ; for these philosophers 
say it is absolute and eternal, nay, that it is all 
and in all. It is not an effect, but a cause, 
or it is both. On this theory it is a power, an 
omnipotent power, for it produces all things, does 
all things. Is it not then intelligent, adapting 
means to ends, working according to method and 
law? Is it not, in fact, a conscious, self-control- 
ling agent, and may it not be holy, just, and good? 
Substitute, then, the term God for matter, and 
what have we but the old, eternal doctrine of the 
Creator, supreme over all, as well as in all — 
whence the possibility of creations, revelations, 
and miracles. 

But Comte and his followers would say, We 
do not refer the universe to matter, or call it 
matter; we simply affirm that the whole consists 
of necessary and eternal laws, from which come 
all the changes or phenomena of the universe. 
Laws! what are they? They must be either 



322 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

methods 01 forces. If methods or rules, they are 
the methods or rules of some subject or cause, 
that is, of God ; for they display infinite power 
and intelligence. If forces, we ask again, forces 
of what? for forces are attributes of a subject, 
qualities of a being. 

The fact is, we are so constituted as to be 
under a necessity of referring all qualities and 
changes to some Essence or Being in whom they 
inhere, or from whom they proceed. Evidently, 
the universe, as we know T it, is a production, an 
organization, or congeries of organizations, which 
must have a beginning or cause. And, as we 
know of no new changes or products among 
men, which have not, back of them, an intelligent 
agent, which we call mind, we are compelled to 
conclude, that the universe, as an organism the 
most complicated and beautiful, has, back of it, 
an all-creative Mind. And if so, all sorts of cre- 
ations, and miracles among the rest, are possible. 

But, thirdly, miracles are denied on the ground 
of pantheism. 

There are various forms of pantheism, but in 
its proper, absolute character, it denies the per- 
sonality of God as well as the personality of 
man, and thus represents the universe as God, 
and God as the universe, without consciousness, 
freedom, or intelligence.* Hence it views all 

* As involving limitation and succession, personality cannot be 



MIRACLES. 323 

things, and all beings, man among the rest, as 
only paris of a whole, or rather as only limited 
manifestations of a whole, which it calls Nature, 
God, or Spirit, as it pleases. Thus Spinoza made 
the universe to consist of Natura Naturans and 
Natura Naturata. The Natura Naturata, or the 
outward universe, according to him, is the neces- 
sary and eternal manifestation of the Natura 
Naturans, or the absolute Substance, which has 
two attributes, Thought and Extension. The 
laws of such a nature, of course, are absolute, 
necessary, and eternal. There can be no freedom 
or choice, no new laws, or new applications of 
old laws, no reserved forces, no new creations, 
and no miracles.* 

Pantheism, however, may be divided into 
physical and spiritual.. The physical, or grosser 
form of pantheism, as in the Brahminism of 
India, deifies and worships the visible universe, 
sun and stars, earth and man, rivers and foun- 
tains, beasts and insects. In such a system 
there can be no positive sin. Man is God, as 
an insect is God. He proceeds from, and will 
finally fall back into, the abyss. This kind of 
pantheism, among the western nations, takes the 

ascribed to God. But as involving freedom, consciousness, and rea- 
son, in their absolute perfection, it undoubtedly can. 

* Opera, vol. i. p. 208 et seq. Spinoza's views of miracles are de- 
veloped in the sixth chapter of the Tractatus Theo., Opera, vol. ML 
p. 86, et seq. 



324 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

fornn of materialism, already noticed. It recog- 
nizes only the outward and material, and, in our 
mechanical age, refuses to worship. 

The spiritual pantheism is that adopted by 
some of the idealists in Germany and elsewhere. 
It regards the outward universe, or the universe 
of material forms, as simply phenomenal or ap- 
parent. God, or the interior, absolute cause of 
the universe, is spiritual, consisting simply of 
Being and Thought, or of Being and Thought 
together, without conscious personality. Ac- 
cording to Hegel, all we can know is the rela- 
tions of things. God, as absolute, is an infinite 
Abstraction, that is, the absolute and inconceivable 
Essence, which he has called Das Nichts, (or 
Nothing-,) meaning by that, not an absolute Noth- 
ing, such as ordinary mortals would conceive 
the word to mean, but an absolute Abstraction, 
in other words, Being or Thought, from which 
all conceivable relations and conditions are 
abstracted. But in the process of thought, 
according to Hegel, this Absolute passes into 
reality, which is the universe. Both, indeed, 
are eternal, for the All is only an everlasting 
oscillation between the negative and the positive, 
the absolute and the relative, the spiritual and the 
concrete. God, as the eternal Thought, which 
lies back of all change, comes to consciousness 
only in man, on which ground man is divine. 



MITtACLES. 325 

His development is the necessary progress of 
all history, of all religion, and morals. On this 
basis Hegel builds the vast superstructure of his 
logical and philosophical system. 

The apparent pantheism of Schelling, much 
modified of late years, differs from this in many 
particulars, and admits, whether logically or not 
we do not now say, of a divine incarnation and 
atonement, and, so far, does homage to Chris- 
tianity as a supernatural system. 

It is clear, however, that the theory of Hegel, 
adopted, in its fundamental principles, by 
Strauss, Bauer, and others in Germany, and 
in this country, to some extent, by R. W. Emer- 
son and his admirers, strikes at the very possibil- 
ity of a supernatural religion, and especially of 
miracles. It might admit, and indeed does ad- 
mit, of the existence of Jesus Christ as a neces- 
sary development of the divine idea in the sense 
understood by the Hegelians, but not more so 
than that of any other good man. Hence these 
speculatists do not deny the reality of Christ, as 
a remarkable character, and author of a beauti- 
ful system of religion and morals. They only 
deny him as a supernatural being, or as God in- 
carnate, in the ordinary Christian sense. 

It would be out of place here to attempt a 
formal refutation of Hegelianism. Indeed, to 
28 



326 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

most sane persons it refutes itself. Its grounds 
and conclusions are equally untenable. Yet the 
system is distinguished by vast logical force, 
and occasionally suggests grand and comprehen- 
sive views.* 

If we ourselves are free agents, and not mere 
machines, spiritual or animal, (and who at bot- 
tom can doubt this, that knows himself?) we are 
compelled, by the constitution of our nature, to 
regard God as a free agent, self-conscious and 
self-controlled ; and if thus free, then creative, 
freely creative ; and if freely creative, then capa- 
ble of intervention and miracle. It is not, indeed, 
for us to say, what he may or may not do, in the 
way of supernatural manifestation ; but, assured- 
ly, the idea of creation, of incarnation, and miracle, 
ascribed to him, is neither impossible nor improb- 
able. Indeed, nothing would seem to be more 
probable ; a consideration which accounts for 
the universal expectation and impression on the 



* Hegel professed to construct his system without assuming any- 
thing, whether matter or mind, thought or volition. But this was 
impossible. Unconsciously to himself, he assumed his own powers 
of thought. His "Das Nichts," though negative, involve the pos- 
itive, as a necessary idea. His abstractions, then, must involve re- 
alities, that is, man as an intelligent, voluntary thinker and actor ; 
and if man, then God, as the free and intelligent Creator of the uni- 
verse. In this way his system refutes itself. 



J 



MIRACLES. 327 

subject. Admit the idea of a personal God, 
interested in man, and you can admit easily all 
the miracles of the New Testament. 

In its more naked character, pantheism is a 
monstrous and fatal error, and yet it is only the 
exaggeration of a great truth, namely, that God, 
while superior to his works, is not to be consid- 
ered as separate from them. While over all, he 
is yet " in all," by a universal presence. Here 
we behold him as the all-comprehending Power, 
the all-pervading Wisdom and Beauty, a thought 
which brings him close to the heart. But the 
God of Hegel and Strauss, who comes to con- 
sciousness only in man, is a monstrosity, rejected 
alike by reason and revelation. 

But while we admit God as " in all," we in- 
stinctively feel, all instinctively feel, that we our- 
selves are distinct personalities, and though de- 
rived from God and even dependent upon him, 
that we have a will and a purpose, a character and 
a career of our own. So, also, we feel that the 
external world is not only distinct from us, but 
distinct from God, and consequently that God, 
being himself a free and omnipotent agent, can 
do as he pleases, in the matter of incarnation 
and miracle. 

Yet as nature is from God and under God, all 
his actings, however strange and stupendous, 
will be in harmony with those great laws through 



328 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

which he is wont to act. These, however, have 
already admitted of creations, of new and won- 
drous beginnings, changes, and developments, in 
organic forms and animals, as Hugh Miller and 
others have shown ; so that no new creations or 
beginnings, whether in the sphere of matter or 
of mind, need occasion us any surprise. All we 
want is proof of the fact. 

We apprehend, however, that the philosophi- 
cal objection to miracles, as new creations, lies 
in the attempt to conceive how something can 
come from nothing. Those who believe this, as 
a simple fact, of course will not feel the force of 
the objection ; for however mysterious the thing 
may be, they are compelled to suppose that all 
created things are made from nothing. But this 
cannot be strictly or absolutely true, God him- 
self being supposed as ultimate cause or ultimate 
something; for of course there can be no effect 
without a cause, in which sense the maxim is 
true, Ex nihilo nihil fit. God creates all things, 
say theologians, from " the word of his power ; " 
he " speaketh and it is done, he commandeth 
and it standeth fast; " on which ground miracles 
are possible. The philosopher might prefer to 
say that God creates all things from or out of 
himself; but in saying this he throws no new 
light upon the matter. It is simply admitting 
the great principle of adequate cause. The 



MIRACLES. 329 

mystery or the rationale of the fact remains con- 
cealed. 

Now, it is on this ground we urge not only 
the moral but the philosophical possibility of the 
Christian miracles, including the birth and the 
resurrection of Christ. It can never be shown 
that they must necessarily be the product of 
nothing, even on the lower ground of appear- 
ances. While supernatural power came in at 
particular points, natural causes, and sometimes 
preexistent materials and forces, were used. 
The miraculous wine, for example, was a prod- 
uct from water, just as the wine of the grape 
is a product from natural elements. 

Christ, as a new creation, had two terms, the 
human and the divine ; he was both natural and 
supernatural, but not an effect without a cause. 
So also the healing and restoring power, which 
gave health to the diseased and life to the dead, 
was in Christ as a cause. "Virtue went out of 
him." His own resurrection was the effect of 
his eternal divinity, or eternally divine and inde- 
structible life. Thence, while he died as to his 
manhood, by the separation of the soul from the 
body, or the human from the divine, he did not 
die as to his spiritual and immortal nature. 
The union only was suspended. When restored 
on ths third day, of course he rose again. So 
28* 



330 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

thai the maxim, that "from nothing nothinj 
comes," will not apply here. 

We add, fourthly, that the miracles have been 
rejected on the mythic theory. 

Not content with metaphysical or even philo- 
logical objections, Strauss, Parker, and others 
have endeavored to show that all the miracles 
are only natural myths, clustering around the 
few elementary facts which form the basis of 
Christianity. Because the religions of most na 
rions, as well as many historical facts and pei 
sonages, in the earlier period of their history, aru 
invested with myths or legendary fictions, it is 
inferred that such also must be the case both 
with Judaism and Christianity. We have al- 
ready considered this theory ; we will therefore 
now limit ourselves to the remark, that though 
the premises may be admitted, the conclusion 
may be peremptorily denied. Because there have 
been many false pretensions to freedom, are we 
to conclude that there is no such thing, or that 
there never can be such a thing, as freedom ? 
Because many histories, especially in their earlier 
periods, are fictitious and extravagant, must we 
infer that all histories are of the same character? 
Because religion has frequently appeared in the 
garb of myth and poetic legend, must we ac- 
cept the conclusion that God cannot give us the 
true religion without such appendages? 



MIRACLES. 331 

All the ancient nations, with the exception of 
the Hebrews, were idolaters. If, then, all the 
religions of such nations, in their mythical forms, 
were false, may not that of the Hebrews be true? 
If other forms of faith, growing up by a natural 
process, and thence invested with much human 
error, were associated with false or pretended 
miracles, may not Christianity, based, as Strauss 
and Parker are compelled to own, upon abso- 
lute and eternal truth, be associated with true 
miracles ? 

We might also inquire, How comes this uni- 
versal belief in miracles ? It is a fact to be ac- 
counted for. Why should all mankind, with 
inconsiderable exceptions, cherish the indelible 
conviction that they must be found somewhere ? 
It seems to spring from an instinct, or an intui- 
tion, as deep and all-pervading as that which 
gives them the idea of God and immortality. 
Hence, instead of an argument against mira- 
cles, the mythic theory is a presumption in 
their favor. Only we must be careful to distin- 
guish between the real and the spurious, the 
divine and the human. Both have their char- 
acteristics. 

But the whole is a question of fact ; and Strauss, 
unconsciously dissatisfied with his theory, has at- 
tacked the Christian miracles, chiefly on historical 
and philological grounds. He has gathered togeth- 



332 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

er all apparent discrepancies and contradictions, 
to falsify their claims. After all, the great histori- 
cal verities, or fundamental facts, springing from 
the supernatural character of Christ, and form- 
ing the essence or basis of Christianity, are left 
untouched. No quibbling with particulars, or 
even the citation of real difficulties, can affect 
the history as a whole. It has woven itself, as 
an historical reality, into the very fabric of soci- 
ety ; there it stands, in its divine and super- 
natural power, and there it will stand forever. 
The source of a river maybe far inland, and 
much hidden among woods and hills, so that 
some dispute may be indulged respecting the 
localities of its origin, and particularly as to the 
individual streams which have swelled its cur- 
rent; but it has originated among those woods 
and hills, and yonder it comes, rolling its mighty 
tide of waters to the distant sea. 

Finally, the miracles have been assaulted on 
the ground of experience. 

Assuming that a miracle is " a violation of 
the laws of nature," which laws " are established 
by a firm and unalterable experience," *' there 
arises," says Hume, " the contest of two oppo- 
site experiences, or proof against proof ; " so 
that "the'proof against a miracle from the nature 
of the facts is as complete as any argument 
from experience can possibly be imagined. On 



MIRACLES. 333 

this ground he maintains that " no amount of 
testimony can prove a miracle ; " which is pre- 
cisely the same thing as to maintain that a mir- 
acle is impossible in "the nature of things. That 
this was his real theory, can admit of no ques- 
tion. Speaking of certain alleged miracles, he 
says, " What have we to oppose to such a cloud 
ol witnesses, but the absolute impossibility or mi- 
raculous nature of the fact.' 5 The sum total, then, 
of Hume's argument is, that a miracle is to be 
rejected because it is a miracle, assuming it to be 
" a violation of the laws of nature," and thence 
impossible. But he forgets his own principles, 
and in the course of his argument, actually admits 
that there may be miracles of such a kind as to 
admit of proof from human testimony ; only he 
will not allow them in connection with religion ; 
and why? Because "mankind have been so 
frequently imposed upon by pretensions of that 
sort ! " Thus he changes his ground and aban- 
dons his argument. 

That miracles are possible, not as a violation 
of the laws of nature, but as a special mani- 
festation of a Power beyond the resources of 
nature, or the laws which control its movements, 
must be conceded by every one who believes in 
a God. Even Theodore Parker, who more than 
once avails himself of Hume's sophism, admits 
their possibility. He says, " Discourse of Mat- 



334 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

tors pertaining to Religion," p. 254, " There is 
no antecedent objection nor metaphysical im- 
possibility in the case," namely, that a miracle 
may be what he calls " a transgression of all 
law known or knowable by man, but yet in con- 
formity with some law out of our reach." " Fi- 
nite man," he adds, " not only does not, but can- 
not, understand all the modes of God's action, 
all the laws of his being. There may be higher 
beings, to whom God reveals himself in modes 
that we can never know ; for we cannot tell the 
secrets of God, nor determine a priori the modes 
of his manifestation. In this sense a miracle is 
possible. The world is a perpetual miracle of 
this sort. Nature is the art of God ; can we 
fully comprehend it ? Life, being, creation, 
duration, do we understand these actual things ? 
How then can we say to the Infinite, ; Hitherto 
shalt thou come, but no farther ; there are no 
more ways wherein thy being acts ' ? Man is 
not the measure of God." 

We will not stop here to remark upon the latent 
argument against miracles, even in this conces- 
sion, by the ambiguous use of the expression, 
transgression of the laws of nature, much the 
same as Hume's " violation of the laws of na- 
ture," upon which Mr. Parker seems to argue, 
in other parts of his book ; we will take the pas- 
sage as it stands, cordially thanking him for his 



MIRACLES. 335 

important admission ; for now the only question 
that remains touches the evidence of the fact.* 
Mr. Parker himself momentarily sees this, and 
immediately addresses himself to the evidence, 
which he demolishes (in his own view) by a few 
dexterous blows. But it is not so easily got rid 
of. Mere assertions will not disprove it. Dec- 
lamation will not diminish its power. Pre- 
tended miracles, those, for example, of the dark 
ages, may seem to have as much and even more 
evidence ; but this is a fancy easily disposed of. 
It is appearance only, and may deceive the un- 
wary, but not thoughtful, well-informed men. 
No one in the slightest degree acquainted with 
legendary or monkish miracles will, for a mo- 
ment, bring them, either as to their nature or their 
evidence, into comparison with the miracles of 
Christ. Fifty witnesses, in a court of justice, 
may testify on one side, and their evidence may 
seem to overpower and utterly extinguish the 
testimony of two or three simple and candid 
men, on the other side ; but the instant their 



* After all, we apprehend that Mr. Parker's concession is a mere 
logical or rhetorical ruse ; for he must ultimately base his denial of 
miracles on their impossibility. Hence in his Two Sermons, 1852, 
he makes the following bold statement : "I do not believe there 
ever was a miracle, or ever will be; every where I find law — the 
constant mode of operation of the infinite God. I do not believe 
in the miraculous inspiration of the Old Testament, or the New 
Testament," &c. 



336 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

true character and the circumstances of the case 
are fairly presented, the evidence of the fifty 
vanishes into thin air, while that of the two or 
three is established forever. Everything, in such 
a question, depends upon character and circum- 
stances. The thousand and one stories, then, 
of foolish monks or garrulous old women,* — nay, 
more, the solemn depositions of learned and 
dignified bishops, besotted by superstition, ■ — may 
well be dismissed from the account. In nothing 
but their name do they bear the slightest com- 
parison with the divine mission or supernatural 
works of Jesus Christ. 

But how is it with this matter of experience ? 
There seems to be something in it, after all. 
What are its nature and bearings on the ques- 
tion at issue ? If the word, as used by Hume, 
means any thing, it must mean our individual 
experience, or the experience of the race. If it 
means our individual experience, then it makes 
that which is necessarily limited and imperfect 
the standard of all possible events — an assump- 
tion utterly preposterous. If it means the expe- 
rience of the race, including that of the first 
Christians, the apostles of Christ, and the writers 
of the gospel histories, then it takes for granted 
the very point to be proved. For we maintain 
that miracles were matters of experience in the 
days of Christ and his apostles. Hume, how- 



MIRACLES. 337 

ever, was too acute to mean any thing more 
than the general conviction of mankind, derived, 
as he thought, from experience, with reference to 
what may be termed the uniform action of the 
ordinary laws of nature, in the case of miracles, 
partly suspended or controlled, as we suppose, 
by some higher power or law beyond our knowl- 
edge. But nature can never be contrary to God, 
nor can God be contrary to nature ; consequently 
an inferior law can never be contrary to the action 
of that higher law by which it is controlled. Even 
now the law of life controls, sometimes suspends, 
the action of chemical laws ; but they are never 
contrary to each other. In Christianity, life is 
restored to the dead. Lazarus, for example, 
rises from the tomb at the command of Christ. 
That divine power, then, or power of life, by vir- 
tue of which this takes place, may be represented 
as the higher, or unknown law, which, in this 
instance, controls the ordinary laws governing 
organized beings. But there is no real opposi- 
tion between them, no violation, transgression or 
perversion of any thing. A new and stupen- 
dous power has intervened, and a new and stu- 
pendous phenomenon is the result. This is 
ascribed directly to God himself, the great origi- 
nal Life-giver, who, when the darkness of prime- 
val night brooded upon chaos, said, " Let there 
be light, and there was light." 
29 



338 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Thus the uniformity and immutability of na- 
ture and its laws are not absolute, but relative; 
relative, we mean, to God, who presides over 
them with the supremacy of a master. Their 
uniformity for five thousand or ten thousand 
years is no proof that, previous or subsequent to 
that period, a change was or may not be possible. 
In a word, it does not follow, from the general 
uniformity of nature's laws, that God, " whose 
they are, and whom they serve," may not inter- 
pose at specific eras, by means of new creations, 
regenerations, and miracles. To deny this would 
make matter eternal, and God a mere natural 
and blind necessity, without freedom or choice. 

Our experience, however, of the general uni- 
formity of nature's laws, leads us, of course, to 
reject all pretensions to miracles, on ordinary or 
frivolous occasions, or on such occasions as a 
divine intervention cannot be supposed. " Lying 
wonders," in the garb of miracles, are essentially 
incredible ; for they are derogatory, not only to 
the laws of nature, but to the character of God. 
Their external evidence or testimony may seem 
imposing, but it is never really adequate. Thor- 
oughly sifted, it will ever be found partial, selfish, 
and contradictory. It may be allowed, then, 
that no amount of such testimony can prove such 
a miracle. A true miracle must have an ade- 
quate cause, and that cause God. And as it is 



MIRACLES. 339 

fair to assume that God will always act consist- 
ently with himself, it follows that a true miracle 
will only be performed for a sufficient reason, or 
with reference to an adequate purpose. So that 
mere portents and prodigies, monkish marvels. 
and mesmeric wonders, whatever other character 
they have, may be rejected as divine miracles, 
without further examination. God, we repeat 
it, will always act like himself; and although we 
know little of his essence or mode of working, 
we know enough of his character to be certain 
that all his works will be holy, just, and good, 
with a certain air of simplicity and majesty, 
fitly styled " divine." Consequently, when he 
does interpose by miracles, as in the first act of 
creation, when " the morning stars sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy," or in 
the new spiritual creation ascribed to Jesus 
Christ, the occasion is worthy of his infinite 
majesty and grace, while the results are the most 
stupendous and beautiful that can be conceived. 
For once more the angels sing, " Glory to God 
in the highest, on earth peace, and good will to 
men." 

Thus Hume's suggestion, misapplied and 
abused, as an argument against the supernatu- 
ral character of Christianity, after all, has some- 
thing good in it, as it supplies us with this prac- 
tical rule, that our experience of the uniformity 



340 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

of nature's laws ought to make us suspicious 
of all miraculous pretensions on ordinary, inade- 
quate, or frivolous occasions. We ought never 
to forget, however, that the spurious proves the 
possible existence of the genuine, the false of the 
true. Shadows cannot last forever. Lux post 
nubila. At last the morning of a heavenly day 
dawns upon the nations. The kingdom comes. 
The new creation, all aglow with the light of 
God, bursts upon the world.* 

To enforce our meaning, and bring the matter 
to a practical issue, take the following illustra- 
tions : Were some one of ordinary credibility 
to inform us that a person apparently dead by 
drowning had been resuscitated by the means 
ordinarily used to restore suspended animation, 
we should believe it at once, without further in- 
quiry, for the thing comes within the scope of 
ordinary experience, and is perfectly natural in 
the circumstances supposed. Were the same 
person to inform us that he had just seen, alive 
and well, a friend known to be dead and buried 
several days, we should probably be unwilling 

* Parker and others lay great stress upon the assumption that 
more evidence is required to prove a strange or miraculous event 
than one of an ordinary kind. But that depends altogether upon 
circumstances. In our humble opinion, it is not so much a question 
of quantity as of quality. Something, too, depends upon the mind 
to be convinced. All the evidence in the world will not satisfy soma 
men. 



MIRACLES. 341 

to credit the assertion. We should conclude 
that there must be some mistake in the case; 
for the dead cannot rise, under the action of 
the ordinary laws of nature. For the produc- 
tion of such a result, the exertion of a divine 
power, equal to creation, is needed, which can- 
not be expected, except at some grand or pe- 
culiar crisis. If, however, four, five, a dozen 
honest and competent witnesses were to testify 
to the occurrence of a similar fact, we should 
deem it quite extraordinary ; still, we should sus- 
pend our judgment till the matter should receive 
a thorough investigation. There is, indeed, no 
a priori impossibility in the supposition that God 
should raise the dead, but certainly there is a 
high moral presumption against the exercise of 
such a power on ordinary occasions. Hence our 
hesitation and doubt, justified alike by religion, 
philosophy, and common sense ; on which 
ground it may be assumed, that all pretensions 
to miracles, on common or frivolous occasions, 
are morally incredible. Nay, we may go 
farther, and maintain that, in all probability, 
miracles, as special divine interventions, equal to 
creative acts, can be expected only once or twice 
in the history of the world, that is, at those pe- 
culiar and critical epochs when Jehovah must 
interfere by special divine manifestations for the 
29* 



342 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

establishment of a true religion, or the introduc- 
tion of a new moral creation among men. 

We have supposed an imaginary case. Let 
us now describe a real one. The world, by wis- 
dom, knew not God. The leading nations had 
outgrown their pagan creeds, but could not re- 
place them with a higher and purer faith. They 
were departing farther and farther from truth and 
duty. Darkness covered the earth, and gross 
darkness the people. New forms of scepticism, 
or of superstition, were eating into their hearts, 
yet they were longing madly and vainly for some 
heavenly light. An obvious crisis or turning- 
point had arrived in the history of the world. 
The nations were expectant. All nature was 
prepared for the advent of God. It had been 
predicted in certain ancient books, that at such a 
time a Redeemer should come, in lowliness and 
meekness, yet with transcendent wisdom and 
mighty power, to regenerate souls. 

In these circumstances, a personage, claiming 
the character and function referred to, makes his 
appearance in the Holy Land. His aspect and 
manners correspond to the idea of a divine 
teacher. He speaks on the subject of religion 
and morals, of life and immortality, as man has 
never before spoken. His purity is unquestioned, 
his benevolence expansive and wonderful. He 
penetrates the secrets of nature, of man, and o/ 



MIRACLES. £43 

God, by an intuition, and develops in language 
of amazing simplicity and force a perfect sys- 
tem of religion and morals. In every respect, 
he transcends his age, and indeed all ages. 
Simple and august, gentle, yet severe and com- 
manding, he goes forth to do and to suffer the 
will of God, supplying not only in his creed, but 
in his person, a splendid illustration of the power 
of goodness, infinite and immortal. He performs 
many wonderful works, and suffers much from 
the persecution of the ungodly. He predicts his 
own death, looking forward to it as a great spir- 
itual necessity, with a sublime and mysterious 
confidence. At last he dies by the hand of the 
public executioner, praying for his enemies, and 
exclaiming, "It is finished!" But previous to 
this, he predicted not only his death, but also 
his resurrection, as the necessary completion of 
his career on earth and the crowning proof of his 
divinity. His disciples, indeed, are incredulous 
of the fact, and give up all for lost. Their hopes 
are buried in his tomb. His enemies, aware of 
his predictions, secure his sepulchre by the gov- 
ernment seal and a guard of Roman soldiers. 
But on the third day the sepulchre is empty ; the 
body of Jesus is gone. He appears, however, to 
some of his disciples, not once, but again and 
again, and in circumstances admitting of no de- 
lusion. At first, some of them doubt, but subse- 



344 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

quently obtain ocular, nay, more tangible dem- 
onstration of the fact ; so that all are entirely 
satisfied as to the reality of his resurrection. 
Such is their testimony — a testimony which they 
bear before the judicial tribunals and people of 
the Jews, and which they repeat in all conceiv- 
able circumstances to their dying day, in spite, 
too, of persecution, contumely, and wrong. At 
last they behold him ascend from the earth ; in 
other words, pass into the spiritual and immor- 
tal sphere ; in parting, they receive his blessing, 
filling them with unutterable peace. His spirit 
of might and love takes possession of their 
hearts, and they go forth in his name, to found 
among men a kingdom of righteousness and 
love. 

Here every thing is natural and becoming. 
The testimony is ample and satisfactory. It is 
uniform and uncontradicted. The occasion is 
the most august and thrilling in the history of 
the world. The result is stupendous and beau- 
tiful. Life and immortality are brought to 
light,— 

"The gates of paradise 
Stand open wide on Calvary.'' 

We have spoken of miracles. After all, Christ 
and his gospel may be represented as but one 
miracle, the miracle of eternal love, first em- 
bodied in Christ, and then embodied among 



MIRACLES. 345 

men. He brought heaven to earth ; and it is 
this which is now struggling for supremacy in 
the world. The miracle stands before us now, 
modifying the interior spirit and the historic life 
of man, transforming individual hearts, and pen- 
etrating, as a leaven of regeneration, into the 
great mass of fallen humanity. God has smit- 
ten the rock in the far wilderness, and the streams 
are flowing yet to refresh the weary millions. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CHRIST IN THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 

As a system, Christianity had not assumed a 
complete form till after the resurrection of Christ. 
Then all things were prepared for its full devel- 
opment and progress in the world. Rejected by 
the mass of the Jews, it was lodged as a hidden 
leaven in a few simple hearts, who, all at once, 
show themselves bold, resolute, resistless, as if 
inspired, as indeed they were, by a supernatural 
power. Fifty days after the crucifixion, the 
apostles began, with a commanding earnestness 
to which previously they were strangers, to exe- 
cute the commission of their divine Teacher — 
" Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel 
to every creature." This they did, first at Jeru- 
salem, the very scene of our Savior's degrada- 
tion, and the last on earth, one would suppose, 
in which such a commission could be executed 
with success. But they claimed to be filled with 
the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word with life- 
giving eloquence. Fearlessly they charged home 
upon their countrymen the guilt of crucifying 
the Son of God, " the Lord of glory," at the 

(316) 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 347 

same time proclaiming to them the " glad 
tidings " of reconciliation and eternal life. This 
was the constant burden of their testimony, 
the great end of their labors. It was as a 
power of life, of renovation, reunion, and eter- 
nal joy thai they announced Christianity to 
the world ; the key note of which had been 
struck by angel voices on the plains of Beth- 
lehem. Not as a philosophy, but as a fact; not 
as a policy, but as a power, superhuman and 
divine, did they proclaim it to all. Calmly they 
pointed, first to the crucifixion, and then to the 
resurrection of Christ, universally known and 
acknowledged as the ground of their testimony, 
while affectionately and tenderly, as if angel 
hearts had been given them, they besought men 
to be reconciled to God. As a consequence of 
this, no less than three thousand persons were 
converted and added to their number in a 
single day. Subdued by a power which they 
ascribed to God, they repented, believed ; and 
hence they were baptized in the name of the 
crucified Redeemer. Soon their number was 
swelled to five thousand ; and at the expira- 
tion of a year and a half, even while the labors 
of the apostles were confined to Jerusalem and 
its vicinity, multitudes, both of men and women, 
had received the truth, and " a great company 
of the priests were obedient to the faith." 



548 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

At this time the converts were scattered abroad 
by violent persecution, and they went every where 
preaching the word. Though " the Master'' was 
gone, so far as his bodily presence was concerned, 
his divine spirit of love and power was with 
them. As Christ died blessing his executioners, 
so died the proto-martyr Stephen. Both con- 
quered agony and death by the might of a super- 
natural charity ; and this was the Heaven-kindled 
flame which the first disciples carried over Judea 
and the neighboring countries. They travelled 
as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch ; and in 
less than three years, churches were established 
in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. 

During this time, however, Christianity had 
been preached to none but Hebrews. Two years 
afterwards it was proclaimed to "the Gentiles," 
and before the thirtieth year from the death of 
Christ, the triumphs of the cross had extended 
to every part of Asia the Less, the isles of the 
iEgean Sea, to a large portion of Greece, and 
even to Rome. At these places the converts are 
described as " a great number," " great multi- 
tudes," " much people." They were especially 
numerous at Antioch and Ephesus. During the 
two years' residence of Paul at the latter city, 
" all Asia," it is said, " heard the word of the 
Lord," meaning by the term " Asia," according 
to the ancient, and especially the Roman use of 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 349 

it, the beautiful and populous region, which lay- 
eastward from the Mediterranean Sea, and occu- 
pied a considerable portion of what has been 
more recently designated Asia Minor. So nu- 
merous were the converts in Ephesus that a sin- 
gle class of them, who had dealt in magic, burned 
their books and implements to the value of fifty 
thousand pieces of silver, " so mightily grew the 
word of God and prevailed." * 

In Jerusalem alone there were " many myri- 
ads," or many "tens of thousands" of believers. 
They multiplied there, and in the adjacent re- 
gions constantly, and no power of opposition or 
persecution could retard their progress. Their 
faith and joy struck the people. Their simplicity 
and devotion, their freedom and liberality, gave 
them power over the minds of serious and can- 
did men. Miracles of life, especially in the spir- 
itual sphere, every where indicated the presence of 
the Divinity, once incarnated in the body of Jesus, 
now enshrined as " Lord and King " in the bosom 
of the church. Baptized " in the spirit," they were 
one — one in their faith and life, one in their or- 
ganization and action. When necessary, they 
had all things common ; they loved one another, 
they pitied the poor, they sought the salvation 
of men, they conquered evil with good, and 

* These statements, as will be obvious to all, are made on the au- 
thority of the Acts of the Apostles. 

30 



350 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

went forth, at the hazard of life, to the mora. 
co n quest of the world. 

Thirty years from the day of Pentecost, or the 
inauguration of the church by the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost, Christians, during the persecution 
under Nero, were quite numerous even in Rome; 
for Tacitus says, that " a great multitude " of 
them were seized.* In the days of Trajan, not 
more than seventy years after, Christianity had 
spread so extensively throughout the Roman 
empire, that in many places the heathen temples 
were deserted. Pliny the younger, governor of 
Pontus in Bithynia, says, in his well-known let- 
ter to the Emperor Trajan, " that many, of all 



* Tacitus obviously was ignorant of the character and claims of 
the first Christians. His testimony to their numbers, however, is 
clear and express. Narrating the facts of the burning of Rome by 
Nero* which the tyrant charged upon the Christians, Tacitus, after 
stating that they had derived their name from Christ, (or Chrestus, 
as he writes it,) who, in the reign of Tiberius, had suffered death, 
under the sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate, adds, " For 
a while this dire superstition was checked ; but it again burst forth, 
and not only spread itself over Judea, the first seat of the mischiev- 
ous sect, but was even introduced into Rome, the common asylum, 
which receives and protects whatever is impure, whatever is atro- 
cious. The confessions of those who were seized discovered a vast 
multitude (the expression is ingens multitude) of their accomplices ; 
and they were all convicted, not so much for the crime of setting 
fire to the city as for their hatred to mankind." It will thus be 
seen, not only from the expression " vast multitude," but also 
from the expressions " dire superstition," " checked," " burst forth," 
that the increase of Christians, even in Rome, must have been great 
and striking. 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 351 

ages and of every rank, were accused to him of 
being Christians ; " and adds, much in the style 
of Tacitus, whose precision in the use of lan- 
guage is the admiration of scholars, "that the 
contagion of this superstition " (as if it spread 
with the rapidity of a pestilence) "had seized 
not the cities only, but the smaller towns also, and 
the open country ; " so that " few victims were 
offered for sacrifice, and the temples of the gods 
were almost deserted." 

There can be no question as to the fact that 
about the close of the first century, say sixty or 
seventy years from the ascension of Christ, 
Christianity had penetrated, with more or less 
success, into every part of the Roman empire, 
the population of which could not be less than a 
hundred and twenty millions. It was planted 
in the cities of Rome and Carthage, in Athens 
and Alexandria, in Ephesus and Antioch, in 
Damascus, and even in Babylon ; nay, more, it 
had reached, if we may credit the traditions of 
the fathers, as far as Spain on the one hand and 
India on the other. Christians were to be num- 
bered by thousands in Palestine and Arabia, in 
Italy and Egypt, in Greece and Asia the Less. 
Justin Martyr, who flourished in the first half of 
the second century, describes the extent of Chris- 
tianity in the following terms : " There is not 
a nation either of Greek, or barbarian, or any 



352 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

other name, even of those who wander in tribes, 
or live in tents, among whom prayers and thanks- 
givings are not offered to the Father and Creator 
of the universe in the name of the crucified 
Jesus." So also Clemens of Alexandria, a little 
later, says, " The philosophers were confined 
to Greece, and to their particular retainers ; but 
the doctrine of Christianity did not remain in 
Judea, but is spread through the whole world, 
in every nation, and village, and city, converting 
both whole houses and separate individuals, 
having already brought over to the truth not a 
few of the philosophers themselves. If the 
Greek philosophy is interdicted by law, it imme- 
diately disappears ; whereas, though, from the 
first appearance of Christianity, kings and ty- 
rants, governors and presidents, with their whole 
train, and the populace on their side, have en- 
deavored with their whole force to exterminate 
it, yet doth it flourish more and more." The 
following is the testimony of Tertullian, who 
lived in the second century of the Christian era. 
Addressing those who governed the Roman em- 
pire, he says, " We are but of yesterday, but 
we have filled every thing that is yours, cities, 
islands, castles, free towns, council halls, the very 
camps, all classes of men, the palace, the senate, 
the forum. We have left you nothing but your 
temples. We can number your armies ; there 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 353 

are more Christians in a single province. Even 
if unequal in force, is there any war for which 
we, who so readily submit to death, should not 
be prepared and prompt, did not our religion 
teach us to be slain rather than to slay ? Un- 
armed and without rebellion, should we only 
separate from you, we might thus fight against 
you, by inflicting the injury you might suffer 
from divorce. If we, such a multitude of men, 
w r ere to break away from you, retiring into some 
remote corner of the world, your government 
would be covered with shame at the loss of so 
many citizens, whoever they might be. The 
very desertion would punish you. Without 
doubt you would be terrified at your solitude, 
at the silence and stupor of all things, as if the 
world were dead. You would have to- look 
about for such subjects." It may be said that 
this, from the fiery Tertullian, is the language of 
rhetorical exaggeration. Be it so. After all, it 
must have rested upon some basis of fact, to 
give it even the semblance of force ; for as it has 
been well remarked, " Tertullian was a writer of 
too much acuteness and eloquence to suffer the 
boldness and vehemence of his language to 
pass those limits, beyond which their only effect 
must have been to expose him to derision.*" 

* Dr. Andrews Norton, who, in the first volume of his work on the 
Genuineness of the Gospels, has discussed this subject, especially 

30* 



354 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Nor is this the only occasion on which TertuJlian 
asserts the great fact here referred to. The fol- 
lowing, as it relates to specific facts, is, if pos- 
sible, more striking than the quotation already 
made. He is addressing Scapula, the proconsul 
o( Africa. " When Arrius Antoninus undertook 
to persecute the Christians, all of that persuasion 
immediately presented themselves before his tri- 
bunal. Then he, after ordering a few for execu- 
tion, said to the rest, ' Wretched people, if you 
wish to die, there are precipices and ropes enough 
to be had.' — If thou wert inclined to do this 
here, [in Africa,] how wouldst thou dispose of so 
many thousands, as well men as women, per- 
sons of both sexes, of all ages, of all ranks, pre- 
senting themselves to thee ? How many fires, 
how many swords wouldst thou need? What 
would Carthage herself, now about to be deci- 
mated by thee, have to endure, when every one 
should see among the sufferers his relations and 
friends ; when he might see there, perhaps, and 
by thy order, dignified men and matrons, and all 
the principal persons of the city, the relations and 
friends even of thy own friends! Spare, there- 
fore, thyself, if not us ; spare Carthage, if not 
thyself. Finally, those whom thou consider- 
est as thy masters, are men, and they too will 

in opposition to the views of Gibbon, with great candor and 
■bility. 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 355 

die : but this sect will not diminish, which thou 
now knowest is but increased when it seems to 
be in the course of being extirpated. For who- 
ever sees so much fortitude is tempted to inquire 
into the cause, and when he sees the truth he 
himself quickly embraces it." * 

This language was used in Africa, within a 
a hundred and fifty years after the first promul- 
gation of Christianity. 

Unknown and despised, it was penetrating, 
like the electric forces, silently and irresistibly, 
into the hearts of mankind, in all quarters of the 
world. It had seized all the great marts of com- 
merce and political power. Rome, long before 
it was aware of the fact, felt its secret energy. 
Judaism tried to crush it, but was itself crushed 
in the encounter. Polytheism struggled with it 
in deadly embrace, but finally yielded to its supe- 
rior force, and, with pagan philosophy, first gave 
up the cities, then the smaller places, and at last 
the country itself. Every where Christianity was 
aggressive and triumphant. 

How shall we account for this amazing power 
and progress ? Gibbon has attempted the solu- 
tion by a reference to natural causes. The fol- 
lowing is his enumeration of these : — 

" 1. The inflexible, and, if we may use the 

* Ad Scapulam, c. 5, 



356 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

expression, the intolerant zeal of the Christians, 
derived, it is true, from the Jewish religion, but 
purified from the narrow and unsocial spirit, 
which, instead of inviting, had deterred the Gen- 
tiles from embracing the law of Moses. 2. The 
doctrine of a future life, improved by every ad- 
ditional circumstance which could give weight 
and efficacy to that important truth. 3, The 
miraculous powers ascribed to the primitive 
church. 4. The pure and austere morals of the 
Christians. 5. The union and discipline of the 
Christian republic, which gradually formed an 
independent and increasing state in the heart of 
the Roman empire." * 

We accept the facts, for they lie on the surface, 
but the solution is not thereby found. The facts 
themselves have to be accounted for. The in- 
flexible zeal — the intense devotion — the exclu- 
sive faith, infallible as light — the lofty self-denial 
— the austere morality — the all-comprehending 
love - — the noble confession of the one God, and 
the one immortal life — the well-established 
claim of miraculous powers, — in a word, the 
unity, purity, fidelity, and all-conquering force of 
the great Christian republic, originally bound 
together, as Gibbon himself confesses, only by 
the ties of a common faith, are facts which do 

* Hist, of the Decline and Fall of the Rom. Empire, ii. 2GI. 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 357 

not explain themselves, but need tobe explained by 
reference to some adequate cause. In matters 
like these, true philosophy goes beneath the sur- 
face, and sees, in energies and results so stupen- 
dous, the might of a supernatural life. It is the 
presence of the Deity among men ; in other 
words, the presence of infinite love and pity in 
the hearts of primitive believers. " The love of 
Christ," says Paul, " constraineth us to live, not 
unto ourselves, but unto him who died and rose 
again." Hence, they " lived to Christ ; " hence, 
also, they " died to Christ." Immortal, they re- 
joiced in shame, agony, and death. The death 
of the martyrs was the life of the church. Their 
superiority to all things outward, especially their 
superiority to suffering, struck the heathen. This 
it was which convinced the philosophers Jastinus, 
Pantaenus, Clemens, and Origen. This it was 
which conquered the Roman world. Their mot- 
to was, " Nothing for self, every thing for God." 
Do we need proof of this ? Let the heathen them- 
selves inform us. All their writers, who refer to 
this subject, speak of what they are pleased to 
call their " obstinate contempt of death." Pliny 
bears noble testimony to the purity of their 
lives. " They affirmed," says he, in his letter to 
the emperor, " that the whole of their guilt or 
error was, that they met on a stated day, before 
it was light, and addressed themselves in a form 



B5S CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

of prayer to Christ, as to some god, binding 
themselves by a solemn oath, not for the purpose 
of any wicked design, but never to commit any 
fraud, theft, or adultery ; never to falsify their 
word, nor to deny a trust when they should be 
called upon to deliver it up ; after which it was 
their custom to separate, and then reassemble to 
eat in common a harmless meal." After receiv- 
ing this account, he adds, that he put two of 
their number, who were accustomed to serve in 
their religious functions, to the torture, in order 
to discover something more ; but he could find 
nothing reprehensible, except their inflexible at- 
tachment to what he is pleased to designate their 
absurd superstition. " We declare and openly 
profess," says Justin Martyr, " in the midst of 
all your tortures, even while torn and bleeding, 
we proclaim that we worship God through Jesus 
Christ." " Torment, rack, condemn, crush us," 
says Tertullian, " the most exquisite cruelty you 
can devise avails you nothing, but rather in- 
duces the more to become Christians. As often 
as we are cut down by persecutions, we spring 
up the more abundantly. The blood of Christians 
is the seed of the church" Hence the author of 
the Epistle to Diognetus, one of the earliest and 
most touching fragments of primitive Christian 
literature, unquestionably belonging to the early 
part of the second century, could say, as if the 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 359 

love of Christ were throbbing at his heart, and 
dictating his language, " They live in the flesh, 
but not after the flesh; they dwell on the earth, 
but have their mansion in heaven ; they obey 
the existing laws, but ill their lives are superior 
to all law ; loving all men, they are persecuted 
by all ; living unknown, they are condemned to 
death ; they are slain, and behold they live ; 
though poor, they make many rich ; in want of 
every thing, they have abundance ; in dishonor, 
they are but honored the more ; when defamed, 
they are vindicated ; when reviled, they bless ; for 
insolence, they return respect ; for well doing, 
they are punished as evil doers ; and yet rejoice 
in their punishments, as being made alive. Re- 
jected by the Jews, as aliens, they are persecuted 
by the Greeks ; and, though hated by all men, 
none can show cause of enmity against them." 

He then proceeds to show how God sent his 
Son to redeem the world from sin, and that, on 
this ground, vast but delightful responsibilities 
are laid upon Christians, and adds, " See you not 
that those who are delivered up to wild beasts, 
because they will not deny their God, are not 
overcome, but only increase the more, the more 
they are persecuted ? This is the work not of man, 
but of God, and an evident token of his coming." * 

* Epislola ad Diognetum. V. Hefele's Patres Apostolici, p. 228. 
For a translation of the whole of the Epistola, see Appendix F. 



860 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Some may be inclined to diminish the force 
of this testimony, by referring it to the partiality 
of sectarian preference. It is corroborated, how- 
ever, by the heathen themselves, who, while ac- 
cusing the Christians of atheism, in rejecting the 
false gods of the populace, are compelled, at 
least indirectly, to acknowledge the superiority 
of the Christian character. Thus Lucian, the 
satirist, in giving the history of an impostor, by 
the name of Proteus or Peregrinus, who deceived 
the Christians, by pretending to wonderful sanc- 
tity and wisdom, incidentally gives the follow- 
ing account of their views and habits. 

" About this time," says he, " it was that he 
[Peregrinus] learned the wonderful wisdom of 
the Christians, being intimately acquainted with 
their priests and scribes. In a very short time 
he convinced them that they were all boys in 
comparison with himself, and became their leader, 
prophet, and grand president, in short, all in all 
to them. He explained and interpreted many 
of their books, and wrote some himself; inso- 
much that they looked upon him as their legis- 
lator and high priest ; nay, almost worshipped 
him as a god. Their leader, whom they yet 
adore, was crucified in Palestine, for introducing 
this new sect ; and this very circumstance was 
the foundation of all the consequence and repu- 
tation which he afterwards gained, and of that 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 361 

glory, of which he had always been so ambitious. 
For when he was in bonds, the Christians, con- 
sidering it as a calamity affecting the common 
cause, did all in their power to release him, 
which, finding impracticable, they paid him all 
deference and honor. Old women, widows, and 
orphans were continually crowding to him; some 
of the principal of them even remained with him 
in prison, having, for the sake of doing so, bribed 
the keepers ; suppers were brought in to them ; 
they read together their sacred books, and the 
noble Peregrinus — for such he was then called — 
was dignified with the title of the new Socrates. 
Some of the Christian deputies came from the 
cities of Asia to assist in pleading for and com- 
forting him. It is incredible with what alacrity 
these people support and defend the public 
cause ; they spare nothing, indeed, to promote it. 
Peregrinus being made a prisoner on their ac- 
count, they collected money for him, and he made 
a pretty respectable revenue from it. These poor 
people, it seems, had persuaded themselves that 
they should be immortal and live forever." The 
reader will notice especially what follows. 
" They despised death, therefore, and offered up 
their lives a voluntary sacrifice, being taught by 
their lawgiver that they were all brethren, and 
that, abandoning our Grecian gods, they must 
31 



302 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

worship their own sage (sophist or rather phi- 
losopher,) who was crucified, and live in obedi- 
ence to his laws, in compliance with which they 
looked with contempt on all worldly treasures, 
and held everything in common — a maxim which 
they had adopted without just reason. If any 
cunning impostor, therefore, who knew how to 
manage matters, came amongst them, he soon 
acquired wealth, by imposing on the credulity 
of these weak and ignorant men." 

But we shall best illustrate the spirit of the 
primitive church by giving one or two specimens, 
among many that might be cited, of early Chris- 
tian heroism. 

In the time of Marcus Aurelius, himself a phi- 
losopher, and upon the whole a good emperor, 
though permitting, and in some instances sanc- 
tioning, great enormities, Christians were often 
persecuted in an irregular way. Among these 
Justin, surnamed the Martyr, was brought, on 
some pretence, before the praefect, by Crescens, 
a Cynic philosopher, whose unblushing vices had 
been exposed by Justin, while defending Chris- 
tianity against the attacks of his enemy. The 
name of the praefect was Rusticus, supposed by 
many to have been the teacher of the emperor in 
the Stoic philosophy. On this occasion, the fol- 
lowing conversation occurred : — 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 363 

Rusticiis. First of all, oner sacrifice to the 
gods, and do homage to the emperor. 

Justin, He who obeys Christ is guilty of no 
crime. (Meaning that he ought to be dis- 
charged.) 

Rusticus. Of what sect [of philosophers] do 
you profess yourself ? * 

Justin, I tried all, and finally embraced that 
of Christ; though that is not agreeable to those 
who profess what is erroneous. 

Rusticus, Do you profess that doctrine, un- 
happy man ? 

Justin, Yes ; for it seems to me to be true. 

Rusticus, What is the doctrine ? 

Justin. That we should worship the God of 
the Christians, whom we believe to have been 
from the beginning One ; the Creator and Maker 
of all things, — of all things seen and unseen, — 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who 
was predicted by the prophets, as the future Sa- 
vior of mankind, their preacher and instructor 
in excellent doctrine — though I, being man, 
cannot speak adequately of his infinite divinity, 
that being only to be known by prophetic power. 
For the prophets spoke long before of him whom 
I spoke of as the Son of God, and of his pres- 
ence on earth among men. 

* Justin, after his conversion, continued to wear the philoso- 
pher's cloak. He was krlown, therefore, as a Christian philosopher, 



364 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Rusticus. Where do you assemble ? 

Justin. Wherever any one chooses.* Do you 
suppose we all meet in one place ? Far from it. 
As the God of the Christians is without limita- 
tion, and invisibly fills the heavens and the earth, 
his faithful servants render him praise and wor- 
ship every where. 

Rusticus. Tell me where you assemble, and 
in what place your disciples are collected. 

Justin. I live just above a certain man by the 
name of Martinus. And up to this time I know 
of no place of meeting but that. If any one 
chooses to come to me, I communicate to him 
the doctrine of truth. 

Rusticus. Are you not then, after all, a Chris- 
tian ? 

Justin. Assuredly I am a Christian. 

[Here other Christians present, companions 
of Justin, — being addressed by Rusticus, avow 
themselves on the same side. After which he 
again addresses Justin as follows : — ] 

Listen to me, wise man, you who think you 
know the doctrine of truth. If you are scourged 
from head to foot, do you suppose you shall then 
ascend into the heavens ? 

Justin. I hope to enjoy the promise, if I suffer 
these things; for I know that all who so live 

* The reply was made to escape the law against Heteeriee. 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 365 

will partake of the divine gift till the consumma- 
tion of all things. 

Rusticus. Do you imagine, when you ascend 
into heaven, that some recompense will be award- 
ed to you? 

Justin. I do not imagine, I believe; nay, I am 
certain of it. 

Rvsticus. Let us return, however, to the busi- 
ness before us. Come, then, all of you, and offer 
incense to the gods with one accord. 

Justin. No right-minded man falls from piety 
into impiety — 

Justin is here cut short by the prsefect, who 
says, " If you do not obey, I shall punish you 
without mercy." To which Justin replies, — 

" We give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ that 
we, through suffering, shall be saved ; for this 
will bring us freedom and salvation before the 
dread tribunal of our Lord and Savior." 

In which the other martyrs concur, saying, — 

Do what you will with us — we are Chris- 
tians, and will not offer incense to idols. 

Whereupon the praefect pronounces the follow- 
ing sentence : — 

Those who will not offer incense to the gods, 
nor obey the decree of the emperor, having been 
scourged, shall be led away and punished capital* 
ly, according to the tenor of the law. 

Such were the terrible tests to which the faith 
31* 



366 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

of the primitive Christians was subjected, and 
such their mild but triumphant firmness. 

" Swear," said the persecutors who had seized 
the venerable bishop, or pastor, of the church in 
Smyrna, " Swear by the genius of Caesar; retract, 
and say, Away with the godless! " The old man 
gazed in sorrow at the frantic multitude, and, 
with his eyes lifted up to heaven, said, " Away 
with the godless!" " Sw r ear, and I release 
thee," urged the heathen magistrate; "blaspheme 
Christ!" " Eighty and six years have I served 
Christ, and he has never done me an injury ; how 
can I blaspheme my King and my Savior? " was 
the touching response. The proconsul again 
commanded him to swear by the genius of Caesar. 
Polycarp replied, that he w x as a Christian, and 
requested a day to be appointed on which he 
might explain, before the proconsul, the blame- 
less tenets of Christianity. " Persuade the people 
to consent," replied the ruler, overawed by the 
calm dignity of his prisoner. " We owe respect 
to authority," said Polycarp ; " to thee I w r ill ex- 
plain the reasons of my conduct, to the populace 
I will make no explanation." The good man 
well knew that it was useless to reason with the 
passions of a ferocious multitude. The procon- 
sul then threatened to expose him to the wild 
beasts. "'Tis well for me to be released from 
this life of misery," was the only reply. lie 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 367 

threatened to burn him alive. " I fear not the 
fire that burns for a moment; thou knowest not 
that which burns forever and ever!" His coun- 
tenance was full of peace and joy, even when 
the executioner advanced into the midst of the 
assembly and thrice proclaimed, " Polycarp has 
professed himself a Christian." The multitude, 
composed of Jews and heathen, replied with an 
overpowering shout. They demanded that he 
should be cast to the wild beasts. The Asiarch 
excused himself, by saying that the games were 
over. Then a general cry arose that Polycarp 
should be burned alive. A hasty but capacious 
funeral pile was gathered of the fuel of the baths 
and other combustibles. He was speedily dis- 
robed; he requested not to be nailed to the 
stake; he was only bound to it. In a dignified 
and simple manner, he then offered the following 
prayer: "O Lord God Almighty, the Father 
of the well-beloved and ever-blessed Son Jesus 
Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge 
of thee, the God of angels, powers, and of every 
creature, and of the whole race of the righteous 
who live before thee, I thank thee that thou hast 
graciously thought me worthy of this day and 
this hour, that I may receive a portion in the 
number of thy martyrs, and drink of Christ's cup, 
for % the resurrection to eternal life, both of the 
body and the soul, in the incorruptibleness of 



CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the Holy Spirit ; among whom may I be admit- 
ted as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as thou, O 
true and faithful God, hast prepared, and fore- 
shown, and accomplished. Wherefore I praise 
thee for all thy mercies ; I bless thee; I glorify 
thee, with the eternal and heavenly Jesus Christ, 
thy beloved Son, to whom, with thee and the 
Holy Spirit, be glory now and forever." 

The fire was kindled in vain, probably from 
some natural cause, though the early Christians 
deemed it supernatural.* Though the fire was 
kindled again, an executioner was sent to de- 
spatch the victim, and the blood which flowed 
from his side served to extinguish the flame. 
His body was subsequently reduced to ashes. 

" Such was the death of the blessed Polycarp," 
says the Letter of the Church of Smyrna, " who, 
though he was the twelfth of those in Smyrna 
who, together with those from Philadelphia, suf- 
fered martyrdom, is yet chiefly celebrated by all 
men ; insomuch that he is spoken of by the very 
Gentiles themselves, in every place, as having 
been not only an eminent teacher, but also a 
glorious martyr; whose death all desire to imi- 
tate, as having been every way conformable to 
the gospel of Christ." f 



* Patres Apos., (ed. Hefele,) p. 216. 
f Ibid. p. 219. 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 369 

The martyrdom of Polycarp took place in the 
early part of the second century, when Chris- 
tianity was yet in the freshness and purity of its 
first love. 

At the close of the second century, Christian- 
ity, by the simple force of its inherent virtue, 
was spreading far and wide in every direction. 
It was felt as a power, not only in Rome, the 
capital of the empire, but in Africa on the one 
hand, and Gaul on the other. It had made its 
way beyond the confines of Arabia and Syria, 
as far as Hither India ; nay, more, it had pene- 
trated, with more or less success, among the 
barbarians of the British Isles. We do not in- 
deed mean to affirm, that in these countries poly- 
theism was not the recognized and predominant 
faith ; but we do mean to say, that Christianity 
was gradually taking its place, undermining its 
strength, and preparing its overthrow. The night 
of superstition was still deep and portentous, but 
the sunlight was piercing its depths, and glancing 
upwards and afar amid its broken shadows. 

This was the age of conversion and prosely- 
tism, of struggle and self-sacrifice ; consequently 
of simplicity, purity, and love. The might of 
the gospel was felt in the hearts of men ; Jesus 
Christ was recognized as " Head over all to the 
church ; " pastors and people, united by fraternal 



370 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

ties, had one Lord, one faith, one baptism ; in a 
word, freedom and brotherhood united the whole, 
and made them one in Christ.* 



* In the Appendix, note G, will be found some interesting testi- 
monies from Bunsen, Guizot, Ranke, Gibbon, and others, touching 
the organization and government of the primitive church. 



CHAPTER XY. 

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

The third century, in the history of Christian- 
ity, was one of struggle and transition, of partial 
corruption and splendid triumph. Embodied 
among men, it partook somewhat of their imper- 
fections, and of the imperfections of the age. 
The times were evil, changing, and tumultuous. 
Corruptions the most horrible invaded the heart 
of Roman society. The old civic virtue was 
entirely lost. Scepticism and cruelty, luxury and 
lust, reigned among the patricians ; discontent 
and greed, selfishness and disloyalty, among the 
people. Rome grew weaker and weaker at the 
centre, more feverish and disturbed at the extrem- 
ities. Now and then a good and able emperor 
ruled well for a few years, but the good he accom- 
plished was obliterated by some weak or wicked 
successor. The army ruled the state, controlled 
the emperor, made and unmade the laws. Oc- 
casionally the Christians were tolerated, but oft- 
ener persecuted. Indeed, this was preeminently 
the age of persecution. Blood flowed in torrents. 
Thousands were thrown to the wild beasts, or 
murdered by the frantic populace. 

x'371) 



8 i - CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Christianity, however, made rapid progress. It 
numbered nobles and philosophers among its 
followers. It was preached among the Goths, 
and, in some degree, softened their ferocity. In 
Gaul and in Germany, far and near, churches 
were multiplied. Tours, Aries, Treves, Paris, 
MentZj and other places, became the strongholds 
of its power. It occasionally invaded the palace 
of the Roman emperors, and exerted some influ- 
ence even upon its most furious persecutors. 
When the monster Galerius was dying, he abated 
his persecution of the Christians, and asked their 
prayers on his behalf. 

Christianity, however, in the hands of many, 
had lost something of its simplicity. Supersti- 
tions were ingrafted on its simple usages. Power 
was concentrated in the hands of metropolitan 
bishops. Vain speculations were indulged by 
some Christian philosophers. Philosophy, indeed, 
with all its treasures, was rapidly flowing into 
the bosom of the church. Plato and Philo were 
incorporated into the Alexandrian school, and 
much error was mingled with sublimest truth. 
In Clement and Origen, the highest speculative 
thought was combined with the profoundest piety ; 
but in the end, w T hile philosophy was exalted, 
piety suffered. All this, however, was inevitable, 
in the process of human thought. Offences must 
come, heresies and divisions, vain jangling, and 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 373 

foolish speculation. The converts to Christian- 
ity were from all nations, of all sorts of educa- 
tion and temperament. Many of them were 
men of vigorous intellects and rooted prejudices, 
who, though converted to Christ, retained many 
t)f their errors and defects. Hence, in their 
views of the Deity, and of religion, they followed 
their first, -or their most popular instructors. Now 
they were of one school of philosophy, then of 
another. Few, if any, had just views either of 
secular or of ecclesiastical government. All 
were accustomed to centralization and despotism. 
They misconceived the free, expansive genius of 
Christianity. Hence, as Beausobre has remarked, 
" An Epicurean who embraced the faith was 
disposed to clothe the Divinity in a human form, 
and to define it, like Epicurus, to be an immortal 
and happy animal. A Platonist, on the contrary, 
according to his master's views, maintained God 
to be incorporeal* A Pythagorean, a follower 
of Empedocles, or of Heracleitus, considered the 
Deity as an intelligent fire or light," &c. 

We may add that some of them were panthe- 
ists, and so represented the creation of all things 
as an emanation, and thus confounded matter 



* And yet Plato himself represented " the manifested God," or 
the God of the outward universe, as "an animal ; " — not an animal 
in the inferior sense, sometimes attached to the term, — but a liv- 
ing being, with a body as well as a soul. 

22 



374 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and mind. Temperament also combined with 
these influences to deepen and extend the pe- 
culiarities of the Christian converts. Hence 
the materialism of Hermas and Tertullian, who 
believed in the regenerative power of water ; the 
spiritualism of Justin Martyr, Clement, (of 
Alexandria,) and Origen, with their Platonic 
notions and symbolic interpretations ; as, also, 
the various errors of the Gnostics and the Man- 
ichees, who mingled the truths of Christianity 
with their theosophic dreams, their pleromas 
and seons. 

The age, too, was credulous and superstitious. 
Freedom and independence in matters of govern- 
ment and discipline were almost unknown. Thou- 
sands of converts, among them many teachers 
and preachers, were ignorant and superstitious. 
Hence the multiplication of forms and ceremo- 
nies, and the vast importance attached to exter- 
nal acts, to chrisms and genuflections, amulets 
and charms. 

Nevertheless, the revolution in the views and 
manners of the converted heathen was immense. 
Idol worship was abandoned, and the one true 
and eternal Jehovah was loved and adored. The 
heart was cleansed of its idolatry and lust, the 
life of its folly and crime. It is well known, 
that among the heathen, a virtuous woman was 
a great rarity ; among the Christian females, 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 375 

continence was the rule, vice the exception. 
Charity and chastity were the noble graces of 
the primitive church. 

The contrast between the manners of the 
Christians and those of the heathen was obvi- 
ous to all. The following description, in a letter 
of Cyprian, is by no means exaggerated. Writing 
to his friend Donatus, he says, " Imagine your- 
self raised above the earth, and looking down 
upon it, so as to perceive what is going on there. 
Behold the roads obstructed by bands of robbers ; 
the sea beset with pirates ; war every where! The 
very earth is wet with blood, and what is called 
murder, when committed by a private individual, 
is virtue when it is done by many ; impunity 
being secured, not by the smallness, but by the 
greatness of the offence. If you turn your eyes 
to the cities, then you will find their very magni- 
tude more offensive than the most wretched soli- 
tude. There gladiatorial shows are exhibited to 
gratify the lust of blood. Man is slaughtered for 
the pleasure of man ; he who best knows how to 
kill is the most skilful ; it is a trade, an art. 
The crime is not only perpetrated, but it is 
taught. What can be more inhuman ? They 
combat with beasts, not as criminals, but from 
brute fury : sons behold their father, the sister 
sees the brother, in the amphitheatre. 



376 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

;i Turn your eyes to spectacles of another kind, 
not less repulsive and corrupting. In the theatre, 
the most vicious representations, parricide and 
incest reproduced in all their horror. Look 
ar the comic actor, the very schoolmaster of vice. 
Adultery is learned by seeing it acted ! The 
theatre panders to vice, and breaks down the 
modesty of women. What an incitement to 
vice in the gestures of the actors, who undertake 
to represent the whole course of sensual indul- 
gence ! If, from this, you could look into the 
retirement of the closed chamber, and see what 
is there transacted ! But your eyes would be 
defiled by beholding it." 

Cyprian then proceeds, in deepening colors, to 
depict still more horrible crimes, public and pri- 
vate, in the forum, the baths, the theatres, the 
places of public concourse, to some of which we 
have no parallel in modern times, crimes which it 
is impossible for us to repeat, difficult for us to 
conceive. Indeed, he describes that state of 
society, to which St. Paul, in his Epistle to the 
Romans, refers, as the most degraded and bestial. 

All this, however, the early Christians re- 
nounced. Theatres, gladiatorial shows, popular 
amusements, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the 
eye, and the pride of life they abandoned in their 
baptism. They deserted the temples of the gods, 
and gave themselves to the cultivation of piety 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 377 

and virtue. Tested by the most powerful temp- 
tations, sometimes by appalling deaths, some 
yielded, but yielded reluctantly and with horror. 
This is freely admitted by the Christian fathers 
and church historians. But it is precisely what 
might have been expected. But many repented, 
while the great body of believers nobly stood 
the test. They preferred death to dishonor. 
Their purity, their fidelity, their triumphant faith 
astonished even the heathen. They gloried in 
the cross. Christ was in their souls, as strength 
and peace eternal, and willingly, nay, cheerfully, 
they passed through fire and blood, agony and 
disolution, to the glory of martyrdom. " Your 
cruelty," says Tertullian, addressing the heathen 
ruler, " will be our glory. Thousands of both 
sexes, and of every rank, will eagerly crowd to 
martyrdom, exhaust your fires, and weary your 
swords. Carthage must be decimated ; the prin- 
cipal persons in the city, even perhaps your own 
most intimate friends and kindred, must be sac- 
rificed. Vainly will you war against God. 
Magistrates are but men, and will suffer the 
common lot of mortality ; but Christianity will 
endure as long as the Roman empire, and the 
duration of the empire will be coeval with that 
of the world." Look, for example, at the sub- 
lime serenity and triumph of that youthful com- 
pany, Revocatus and Felicitas, Saturninus and 
32* 



378 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Secundulus, catechumens, and Viva Perpetua, 
a woman o£ good family and liberal education, 
and honorably married, who turned away from 
ill human bribes, and gave themselves to the 
fury of the wild beasts. Entreated by the prayers 
and tears of an aged father to abandon her faith, 
Perpetua clung to the cross, amid shame, agony, 
and death. In prison and among the wild 
beasts, with her young child in her arms, she 
maintained her dignity and composure, as if she 
were an angel rather that a feeble woman. 
"When taken out to execution, they declined, 
and were permitted to decline, the profane dress 
in which they were to be clad; the men that of 
the priests of Saturn, the women that of the 
priestesses of Ceres. They came forward in 
their simple attire, Perpetua singing psalms. 
The men were exposed to leopards and bears ; 
the women were hung up naked in nets, to be 
gored by a furious cow.. But even the excited 
populace shrunk with horror at the spectacle of 
two young and delicate women, one recently 
recovered from child birth, in this state. They 
were recalled by acclamation, and in mercy 
brought forward again clad in loose robes. Per- 
petua was tossed, her garment was rent ; but 
more conscious of her wounded modesty than of 
pain, she drew the robe over the part of her per- 
son that was exposed. She then calmly clasped 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 379 

up her hair, because it did not become a martyr 
to suffer with dishevelled locks, the sign of sor- 
row. She then raised up the fainting and mor- 
tally-wounded Felicitas, and the cruelty of the 
populace being for a time appeased, they v\ ere 
permitted to retire. Perpetua seemed rapt in 
ecstasy, and, as if awaking from sleep, inquired 
when she was to be exposed to the beast. She 
could scarcely be made to believe what had 
taken place ; her last words tenderly admonished 
her brother to be steadfast in the faith. All were 
speedily released from their sufferings. Perpetua 
guided with her own hand the merciful sword 
of the gladiator which relieved her from her 
agony." 

Similar to this, in features of moral beauty 
and heroism, was the martyrdom of Blandina 
at Vienne, in Gaul.* 

The charity of the Christians of this age is 
beautifully illustrated, in contrast with the pro- 
found selfishness of the heathen, on the occasion 
of the devastating plague which broke out at 
Alexandria, as a consequence of the carnage 
which followed the insurrection in that city. 
The heathen fled, the Christians remained, and 
were unwearied in their attendance upon the 
sick and dying. Many of these perished in the 

* See Milman's Hist, of Christianity, pp. 245, 245. See also p. 237 
of the same work. 



3S0 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

performance of their duty. " In this way," says 
the good Bishop Dionysius, with affecting sim- 
plicity, " the best of the brethren departed this 
life ; some ministers and some deacons." They 
thus triumphantly disproved the slander of their 
enemies, who were wont to call them atheists 
and man haters. 

A devotion similar to this was shown at Car- 
thage, when the plague reached that city. " All 
fled in horror from the contagion, abandoning 
their relations and friends, as if they thought 
that by avoiding the plague any one might also 
exclude death altogether. Meanwhile the city 
was strewed with the dead bodies, or rather car- 
casses of the dead, which seemed to call for pity 
on the passers by, who might themselves so soon 
share the same fate ; but no one cared for any 
thing but miserable pelf; no one trembled at the 
consideration of what might so soon befall him in 
his turn ; no one did for another what he would 
have wished others to do for him. The bishop 
hereupon called together his flock, and setting 
before them the example and teaching of their 
Lord, called on them to act up to it. He said 
if they took care only of their own people, they 
did but what the commonest feeling would dic- 
tate — the servant of Christ must do more : he 
must love his enemies and pray for his perse- 
cutors ; for God made his sun to rise, and his 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 381 

rain to fall on all alike, and he who would be 
the child of God must imitate his Father." To 
this appeal the people cheerfully responded ; they 
formed themselves into classes; the rich gave of 
their abundance, the poor of their poverty, and 
no one quitted his post but with his life. 

In the matter of government and discipline, 
the church of the third century was gradually 
yielding to a despotic, all-controlling unity. The 
Bishops of Carthage, Antioch, and Rome, espe- 
cially the latter, exercised extensive influence and 
dominion over the neighboring churches. Grad- 
ually a hierarchy of presbyters and bishops was 
formed. Those who possessed talent and power, 
or who had done and suffered much in the cause 
of Christ, claimed a higher consideration. Epis- 
copal authority was enhanced ; and much bigot- 
ry and intolerance were developed. Heretics 
and apostates were denounced ; the slightest 
deviations from dominant usage was pun- 
ished with proscription and excommunication. 
Speculative notions also, as already intimated, 
began to prevail, and formal creeds were imposed 
upon the people. The Roman emperors occa- 
sionally flattered the bishops and leading mem- 
bers of the church, and a spirit of pride and in- 
tolerance was beginning to invade its purity. 
This, indeed, was often checked, if not alto- 
gether extinguished, by the terrible persecution 



882 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

through which they all passed ; and upon the 
whole, the third century was one of remarkable 
spiritual progress. Piety of the noblest and 
most self-sacrificing kind adorned the character 
both of the pastors and their people. The gold 
was somewhat tarnished ; nay, more, here and 
there it was mingled with dross ; but it was gold 
still. Christ was enthroned in the church, and 
his peaceful reign extended among the heathen. 

In two Christians especially, the one a bishop, 
the other a philosopher, is the spirit of Chris- 
tianity at this era, both in its excellences and 
defects, strikingly developed ; and to them, there- 
fore, we will devote the remainder of this chap- 
ter. "We refer to Cyprian of Carthage, and 
Origen of Alexandria, both of them great and 
good, yet erring and defective men. 

Thascius Cyprianus was born at Carthage, 
of wealthy and influential heathen parents. He 
was educated with great care, and gave evidence 
of extraordinary talents. He paid much atten- 
tion especially to oratorical studies, and was dis- 
tinguished for his bold and fervid eloquence. His 
temper was warm and imperious, his passions 
quick and powerful. Yielding to the vices of 
heathenism, and despising Christianity, it seemed 
impossible that he should ever become a Christian ; 
and indeed, he continued attached to the pagan 
faith till twelve years before his death. When his 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 383 

attention was called to the truth, he felt that in 
his case the transformation demanded was im- 
possible. " Receive," says he in a letter to his 
friend Donatus,* " what must be experienced be- 
fore it can be understood, not by external aids, 
or mere knowledge, but by the transforming 
grace of God. When I lay in darkness and 
blindness, tossed hither and thither, in the dismal 
night, amid the billows, wandering about with 
an uncertain and fluctuating course, according 
to my habits at that time, I considered it was 
something difficult and hard that any one could 
be born again, lay aside what he was before, 
and although his corporeal nature remained 
the same, become in soul and temper a new 
man." 

" How could a man," said he, " already at 
mature age, undergo such a transformation, 
change his whole life and habits, which through 
constitution or the force of custom had become 
a second nature ; learn economy and temperance 
when accustomed to luxury and dissipation ; ex- 
change gold and purple for a poor or simple 
dress ? . . . Thus I have often said to my- 
self. For as I was entangled in many errors of 
my former life, and did not believe that I could 
be emancipated from their control, I yielded to 

* Epistola Prima ad Don. 



384 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

the vice which clave to me, and despairing of 
reform, submitted to my evil passions, as if they 
belonged to my nature." 

After a lone: struggle with himself, and aided 
by the pious counsels of Cecilius, a Christian 
presbyter whose name he adopted at his baptism, 
and whose wife and children he took into his 
own charge, after the death of Cecilius, Cyprian 
at length yielded to the overpowering evidence 
of Christianity, and became a new man in Christ 
Jesus. " Then," says he, " things formerly doubt- 
ful were confirmed in a remarkable manner; 
what before was closed became open, and dark 
things were illuminated ; power was given to 
perform what before seemed difficult — the im- 
possible was rendered possible; my former life, 
carnal in its origin and spent in sin, was an 
earthly life ; my new life, animated and controlled 
by the Spirit, is a life in God." 

Cyprian was reluctantly called, by the voice 
of the people, in a time of trouble and distrac- 
tion, to the bishopric of Carthage. He nobly 
justified their choice. Though urging the loftiest 
claims to episcopal and church authority, and 
occasionally betraying what may justly be termed 
a vehement and intolerant spirit, he gave him- 
self to the work of God with singular energy 
and zeal. His piety and benevolence, his charity 
and patience, were celebrated throughout Africa, 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 385 

wherever the Christian name was known. Per- 
secution assailed the church. He nobly breasted 
the storm when necessary for the defence of his 
flock, but retired before its vehemence whenever 
by doing so he could best accomplish the ends 
of his pastorate. He thus escaped death during 
the persecution under Deems, and returned to 
Carthage when the edicts against the Christians 
were suspended by Valerian. He was soon, 
however, called to bear testimony to the faith, at 
the hazard of his life. AH the bishops and 
teachers of the Christian church were condemned 
to death. It was a time of peculiar trial, and 
Cyprian felt that he must put himself at the 
head of his flock, and stand in the breach. He 
exhorted all to patience and endurance. When 
his sentence was about to be pronounced, he 
quietly awaited what might befall him, at his 
country residence near Carthage, which, in the 
fervor of his first love, he had sold, in order to 
assist the poor with the money, but which the 
attachment of his church had restored to him. 
In the former persecution he had yielded to the 
dictates of prudence ; but now, no entreaties 
from friends, and even from men of note among 
the heathen, who proffered him an asylum, could 
induce him to decline that public confession 
which he believed the Lord had called him to 
make. But when he heard that he was to be 
33 



386 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

taken to Utica, where the proconsul was then 
staying, that he might be executed there, he 
resolved to yield for a season to the advice of his 
friends, "since," as he said, "it was fitting that 
the bishop should confess the Lord before the 
church over which the Lord hath placed him, in 
order, by his confession, to do honor to the whole 
church ; for what the bishop utters at such a 
time, by the inspiration of God, he utters as the 
voice of all." 

All at once Cyprian was seized by a guard, 
and taken to the proconsul ; but as long as the 
proconsul remained in the country for relaxation, 
Cyprian was not examined. Crowds of his 
brethren, friends, and church members gathered 
around him, and watched his prison during the 
night, so that no evil might befall him. The 
next morning, accompanied by a great multitude 
of Christians and heathen, he was led to judg- 
ment. The place was at some distance, and, as 
the proconsul had not yet arrived, he was permit- 
ted to retire to a solitary spot, where, exhausted, 
he lay down upon a bench that he found there. 
A soldier, who had apostatized from Christianity, 
offered him, — from love and reverence, and from 
a desire to secure his clothes as relics, (for the 
passion for relics then began to be entertained ; 
a passion natural, but easily perverted,) — dry 
clothes instead of his own, which were dripping 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 38*7 

with sweat. But Cyprian answered him, " Shall 
I be anxious to be free from discomfort, when, 
perhaps, to-morrow I shall feel nothing at all?" 

When at last brought before the proconsul, 
the latter thus addressed him: — 

Are you Thascius Cyprianus ? 

Gyp. I am. 

Pro. You have suffered yourself to be made a 
chief of these men holding sacrilegious opinions. 

Cyp. I have. 

Pro. The majesty of the emperor requires 
thee to perform the ceremonies of our state 
religion. 

Cyp. That I cannot do. 

Pro. Think of your own safety. 

Cyp. Do what is commanded you. There is 
no room for deliberation in so clear a matter. 

To the same deputy, a year before, he had 
replied, when commanded to perform idolatrous 
ceremonies, u I am a Christian and a bishop. I 
know no other deity than the one true God, who 
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that 
therein is. This God we Christians serve; to 
him we pray day and night for ourselves and all 
other men, as well as for the safety of those very 
emperors." 

Thus he had no fmther explanations to make, 
as the proconsul knew well the tenets of his faith, 
and that there was onlv one alternative. Hence 



CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Cyprian's simple reply — " Do what is commanded 

The proconsul, after consulting with his coun- 
cil, pronounced the following sentence : " You 
have lived a long time in impiety, and have 
conspired to pervert other men — constituting 
yourself the enemy of the Roman gods — so 
that the pious and most sacred emperors have 
been unable to recall you to the observance of 
the holy ceremonies. Therefore, as you are the 
author and leader of these flagrant crimes, you 
shall be made a warning to those whom you 
have conjoined with you in your wickedness." 

Cyp. God be praised. 

He was followed by a crowd of believers, who 
wished to die with him ; but the orders of the 
proconsul, it would seem, extended only to the 
principal men. His friends and disciples, there- 
fore, were permitted to attend him to the place 
of execution, where, with a serene courage, 
springing from his confidence in God, after hav- 
ing presented the executioner with twenty pieces 
of gold, he sealed his testimony with his 
blood. 

We now turn to Origen, whose genius and 
virtue were as illustrious as his piety and devotion 
to the cause of Christ. In him the philosophical 
spirit developed itself in connection with the faith 
of Christ, giving rise to some errors, and yet en- 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. . 389 

richingthe body of truth and the great stream of 
civilization with elements of beauty and power. 
Origen was born in Alexandria, the magnifi- 
cent capital of Grecian Egypt, in the year 185, 
and was instructed by his parents in the truths 
of the Christian religion. He received the best 
education that Alexandria afforded, and in early 
life gave indications of genius and strength of 
character. The old Grecian philosophy, ex- 
tinguished by scepticism in its native haunts, 
revived in Alexandria with augmented splendor. 
As this prosperous city was the emporium of 
trade and luxury, thither nocked all sorts of 
persons, representatives of the different nations 
around it, merchants, artisans, politicians, and 
scholars. Learning and the arts were somewhat 
fostered by the government, and many dis- 
tinguished thinkers were encouraged to open 
schools of philosophy. Plato revived in Philo. 
The theosophy of the east and the speculations 
of the west were mingled in Ammonius Saccas. 
In a word, Alexandria was equally eclectic in 
population, religion, and philosophy. Chris- 
tianity came in as a new and all-comprehending 
power, first making its way among the common 
people, and then among scholars and philosophers 
Pantaenus and Clement were Christian instruct* 
ors, and felt the necessity of adapting their 
teachings to the condition of the community 
33* 



390 <. 111MST IN HISTORY. 

Well read in Grecian learning, as well as in the 

writings of prophets and apostles, they discovered 
points of harmony where others had seen only 
discord and opposition. The grand ideas of the 
Platonic school especially found a response in 
their enlightened minds, and were easily blended 
with the revelations of Christ. Indeed, they saw 
in the fundamental principles of Christianity a 
manifestation of the true God and the everlasting 
life — a higher philosophy, in whose comprehen- 
sive unity all other truth might find its place. 
These were the teachers of Origen, in philosophy 
and religion. These inspired in their susceptible 
pupil the love not only of Christ, but of the 
beautiful and true in nature and in man. In his 
earliest years he evinced a certain grandeur of 
thought and feeling. Leonidas, his father, while 
he admired, had frequent occasion to check the 
inquisitive and aspiring spirit of his son. Yet 
he regarded him with a sort of reverence. It is 
related, that, when leaning over his sleeping boy, 
the father would reverently kiss that bosom as 
the chosen temple of the Holy Ghost. When 
his father was cast into prison, on account of his 
religion, during the persecution under Severus, 
Origen exhorted him rather to suffer martyrdom 
than renounce his religion. 

This persecution was a severe one. It raged 
not only in Alexandria, but in the Thebais, and 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 39l 

throughout Egypt. Multitudes suffered martyr- 
dom. Origen himself burned to win a crown 
similar to the one that now hung over the head of 
his father. He could suffer as well as study for 
Christ! His mother besought him with tears not 
to expose himself to the fury of the persecutors. 
When this proved unavailing, she resorted to the 
expedient of secreting his clothes, and thus forced 
him to remain at home. It was then that he 
wrote to his father not to permit any considera- 
tions of his family to shake his fidelity to Christ. 
The good old man was led forth to death, and 
sealed his testimony with his blood. His prop- 
erty was confiscated ; and the youthful Origen 
supported his mother and six brothers by teach- 
ing the Greek language and literature. 

Shortly afterwards, the persecution was re- 
newed with increased violence. The teachers 
of the Catechetical school sought refuge in flight. 
Origen was asked by Demetrius, the bishop, to 
supply their place. He did so, and nobly breasted 
the fury of the storm. He stood by the side of 
the martyrs during their. trial, exhorting them to 
fidelity, comforted them in their prisons, and 
accompanied them to execution. His own life 
was frequently in danger, but he contrived to 
escape, as if aided by some miraculous power. 
Six of his pupils, according to Eusebius, suffered 
martyrdom; bat he continued his instructions 



892 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

with a constant accession of students and hearers. 
His labors night and day were immense. He 
read and prayed alternately, fasted much, and 
gave alms of all that he had. Every delicacy, 
including wine, and even shoes, and sometimes 
sleep itself, were abjured. Undaunted and self- 
sacrificing, he became all things for Christ. 

This feeling of ascetic severity, noble in its 
principle and impulse, was exaggerated; and 
Origen was led to mutilate himself, according to 
what he deemed the command of Christ, and for 
the sake of avoiding scandal amid the crowd of 
male and female pupils with whom he mingled 
— a sad mistake, yet indicating the iron energy 
and lofty self-denial of the man. Well might he 
be called by his contemporaries Adamantius; 
and well might Eusebius say that " he taught as 
he lived, and lived as he taught." 

After the death of Severus, Origen went to 
Rome, where he gained many friends and ad' 
mirers. After his return, he continued, at the 
desire of the Bishop Demetrius, his catechetical 
instructions. A popular tumult compelled him 
to flee to Palestine, where he was held in such 
esteem by the bishops, that the) encouraged 
him to preach in the assemblies. His profound 
thought and persuasive eloquence won all hearts. 
Moved with jealousy, as it is supposed, his own 
bishop recalled him. Subsequently he was sent 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 393 

to Achaia, to heal some divisions there. On his 
way to Csesarea, in Palestine, he was ordain- 
ed a presbyter, which laid the foundation of 
difficulties and controversies with the Bishop 
Demetrius, who haughtily claimed entire juris- 
diction over the movements of Origen, and 
finally degraded him from the ministry. But 
Origen had a great mission to perform, and he 
meekly continued to discharge his duties. He 
was encouraged and sustained by the churches 
in Achaia, Phoenicia, and Arabia. Denying the 
errors laid to his charge, he went to live at 
Caesarea, where he taught the truths of Chris- 
tianity with great success. In the year 231 his 
persecutor died, and Origen now enjoyed in 
tranquillity his well-deserved reputation. The 
celebrated Gregory Thaumaturgus and his 
brother Athenodorus employed him as their 
instructor, looking up to him with affectionate 
respect. 

When peace was restored to the church, after 
the persecution under Maximin, during which 
Origen had lain in concealment, he took occa- 
sion to travel to Athens. Thence he went to 
Arabia, to which he was invited by the bishops 
of that province, to refute Bishop Beryllus, who 
denied the existence of our Saviors divine na- 
ture, previous to his incarnation. Origen spoke 
with such candor and eloquence, that Beryllus 



394 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

renounced his errors, and thanked him for his 
instructions. He was equally successful with 
other heretics — a circumstance which must be 
ascribed to the wonderful modesty, gentleness, 
and ability of the man. 

In the new persecution under Decius, Origen 
played a conspicuous part. He was regarded as 
a pillar of the church, and thrown into prison, 
where he was subjected to the crudest suffer- 
ings, which he bore with a spirit of calm hero- 
ism and Christian resignation. Exhausted by 
his sufferings, he died at Tyre, in the year 254. 

Origen was a voluminous writer, but the most 
of his productions are lost. The others are some- 
what mutilated, and, in all probability, interpo- 
lated. It is difficult, therefore, to form a just 
estimate of his philosophical or theological opin- 
ions. He spent years on the study of the sacred 
writings in the original tongues. He did much 
to preserve the integrity of the Greek and Hebrew 
text. His commentaries are often fanciful, and 
yet profound and pious. He uses the allegorical 
mode of interpretation, after the manner of 
Philo, and finds meanings under the literal im- 
port, sometimes extravagant, sometimes rare 
and beautiful. In this respect, however, he de- 
parted from the simplicity of Christ. In his 
great work, Contra Celsum, he vindicates Chris- 
tianity, as a divine, infallible religion. His own 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 395 

soul rejoiced in Jesus Christ, as the " brightness 
of the Father's glory, and the express image of 
his person." Liberal and comprehensive, he 
cherished large and generous views, and culti- 
vated a spirit of true Christian charity. Many 
of his speculations are simply suggestions and 
inquiries after the manner of Plato ; he never 
pressed them as infallible dogmas. Not thor- 
oughly appreciating the limits of human inquiry, 
and attaching too much importance to the 
methods of philosophy, at that time ill denned 
and variant, he allowed his thoughts to wander 
into the untried regions of speculative conjec- 
ture. Enamoured especially of Plato, he revelled 
amid the dreams of a profound, yet imaginative 
theosophy. Passing from the outward, and de- 
spising the body, he sought the essential and 
eternal archetypes of things in the bosom of God — 
saw there the unchangeable essence, and finite 
procession of the soul, and thus taught a dogma 
akin to the Platonic transmigration. Like Plato, 
he saw the spirit, once winged and holy, fallen 
into materialism and sin, from which, struggling 
upward, it must leave the body, and rejoin the 
immortals. From the same view he deduced 
the freedom of the human soul, and the final 
restoration of all to purity and God. To him 
all nature, as in the Platonic theory, was vital 
and conscious — the stars were the abodes, per- 



o$G CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

haps the bodies, of living souls, whose brightness 
or dimness corresponds precisely with the moral 
character of the spirits which occupy them. An 
endless succession of worlds preceded our own, 
and an endless succession will follow. The bad, 
revolving, so to speak, through various cycles 
and transformations, will yet, through the agency 
of their free will, and the love of Christ, reach 
new heavens and a new earth, prepared for their 
eternal abode. 

Origen, while holding the humanity of Christ 
as an outer expression of his separate spiritual 
existence, maintained his supreme divinity. He 
saw in him the word or manifestation of the 
one eternal Father. In his Contra Celsum, 
replying to the objection of his opponent, founded 
on the worship paid to Christ, who, in the view 
of the heathen philosopher, was a mere man, he 
says, " We worship, therefore, as we have now 
shown, one God, Father and Son, and our argu- 
ment remains as impregnable as before. We do 
not regard with an excessive veneration one who 
has but lately appeared among men, as though 
he had no existence before. We believe his own 
word, when he tells us, ' Before Abraham was I 
am,' as also when he says, ' I am the truth.' We 
are none of us so stupid as to think that the Es- 
sence of Truth had no existence before the time 



THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 397 

of Christ's appearance." * Hence, in his 8th Hom- 
ily on Jeremiah, he says, " If the soul have not 
God the Father, if it have not the Son, saying, 
1 1 and my Father will come to him, and will 
make our abode with him,' if it have not the 
Holy Spirit, it is desolate." 

Thus Cyprian and Origen come together in 
their love and reverence for Christ, as the Way, 
the Truth, and the Life. This is the living stream 
which mingles with the philosophy, the litera- 
ture, the politics, and the art of the modern 
world. We shall find it in all the centuries, 
coursing its way towards the grand consumma- 
tion of truth, freedom, and righteousness, yet 
to come. 

* Contra Cel. lib. viii. 12. 

34 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CHRIST IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 

We have seen how Christianity, thrown into 
the crude mass of humanity, vitiated and en- 
feebled by idolatry and lust, won amazing tri- 
umphs. It partook, however, in its actual 
embodiment and application, of the spirit and 
tendency of the age. At heart, the Roman em- 
pire was corrupt, and destined to destruction, 
and not even Christianity could finally save it. 
Indeed, its dismemberment was a matter not 
only of political, but of moral necessity. The 
revolution and reconstruction of nations is one 
of God's methods of elevating and purifying 
society. Old forms pass away. New energies 
are brought into free and generous play. Indeed, 
society, in its best form, is an amalgam ; and it 
required the Roman and the Teutonic elements, 
moulded by Christianity, to give rise to the new 
and vigorous organization of modern society. 

Taken, however, into the embrace of the state, 
first by Constantine, and subsequently by Char- 
lemagne and Pepin, as an organized belief, with 
its hierarchy of forms and ministers, Christianity 

(398) 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 399 

necessarily lost much of its original purity and 
power. Still, no amount of corruption could 
divest it of its inherent, life-giving energy.* It 
yet spread, after the disruption of the Roman 
empire, in lines of renovation and blessing. 
The idols of heathen worship were abolished, 
and the worship of the true God was established 
in many barbarous climes. Idolatry and slavery, 
polygamy and gladiatorial shows, with the more 
unnatural forms of lust, so common among the 
heathen, disappeared from the civilized world. 

The church, however, having become national 
and hierarchical, was used as an engine of 
political power. Whole nations were brought 
into it by mere baptism or conquest, without the 
slightest reference to their spiritual state. The 
conversion of a warrior, king, or chief, insured 
the conversion of his people. All must come 
under the yoke of Christ, whether they under- 
stand the gospel or not. Some of the northern 
barbarians, who overran the Roman empire, 
were nominal Christians; others were pagans; 
but all eventually submitted to the church ; some 
from superstition, others from choice, and many 
from policy and force. The consequences can 

* It is of the greatest moment, in estimating the claims of Chris- 
tianity, to distinguish between the mere human form, in which it is 
embodied, and Christianity itself, which never changes. The Chris- 
tianity of Christ, or of the Bible, is often a very different thing from 
the Christianity of man, or of society. 



400 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

easily be foreseen. Paganism was mingled with 
Christianity. The virgin mother was adored 
as "the queen of heaven," temples were turned 
into churches, and churches into temples, adorned 
with images of the saints, and smoking with 
incense. The supper of our Lord was made a 
sacrifice, having a greater affinity with supersti- 
tion than with enlightened religion. The Catho- 
lic church, as it termed itself, with some grand 
redeeming elements, became a mere external 
organization, to which vast additions were con- 
stantly made, partly by persuasion, and partly 
by violence. Abjuring the first element of our 
Savior's kingdom, which is spiritual and divine, 
and thence to be advanced only by the regenera- 
tion of true hearts, in a free, spontaneous man- 
ner, the Papal organization formed itself into a 
hierarchy of material forms and despotic forces, 
and insisted upon the submission of the world. 
The Christian people were excluded from all 
share in the government of the church; and free- 
dom, even on the part of the inferior clergy, was 
utterly excluded. The sword and the keys were 
conjoined, and what could not be effected by 
persuasion was effected by force. Racks and 
gibbets, imprisonment and death, as well as the 
preaching of the gospel, were the means em- 
ployed to secure this result. Undoubtedly, both 
within and without the church Catholic, a con* 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 401 

stant protest was uttered against all this ; and 
here and there, during the middle ages, we find 
multitudes of good Catholics, as well as Protest- 
ants or heretics, abjuring these an ti- Christian 
principles, and cultivating, as best they could, 
the spirit of a pure Christianity. Rome, with all 
her unity, has ever been a unity of compromises ; 
and, as she still possessed the word of God and 
the general theory of the gospel, as a system 
of reconciliation and reform, she retained, not- 
withstanding her corruptions, some regenerative 
power, some conservative social influence. 

Hence, it has been well remarked, that " we 
ought to distinguish between Catholicism and 
Papacy." The Catholic church, in itself consid- 
ered, may be regarded as a different institution 
from the Papal hierarchy. The latter is un- 
questionably anti- Christian ; the former, imperfect 
and even corrupt, may yet embody, and undoubt- 
edly does embody, much true piety. Immense, 
however, were the abuses of the Papacy, and 
through that of the whole Catholic body, at the 
time of which we are speaking. They had 
grown to such enormity in the days of Petrarch 
and Dante, that these two poets, Catholics both, 
denounced the Roman hierarchy, popes, cardi- 
nals, and monks, with unmeasured severity. 
Dante does not hesitate to put some of the popes 
34* 



402 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

in his Inferno, and boldly designates Rome as 
the Babylon of the Apocalypse, exclaiming, — 

" All Const an tine ! to how much ill gave birth, 
Not thy conversion, but that plenteous dower 
Which the first wealthy father gave to thee."* 

Petrarch, who had seen, especially at Avignon, 
the horrible corruptions of the Papal court, pours 
upon it a torrent of invective.f 

* See Inferno, cxix. Purgatorio, xxxii. 

t The following verses will give an idea of the energy with which 
Petrarch — ordinarily so gentle in the style of his composition — 
attacks the Roman see : — 

" The fire of wrathful Heaven alight 
And all thy harlot tresses smite, 

Base city ! Thou from humble fare — 
Thy acorns and thy water — rose 
To greatness, rich with others' woes, 

Rejoicing in the ruin thou didst bear. 

" Foul nest of treason ! is there aught 
Wherewith the spacious world is fraught 

Of bad or vile, 'tis hatched in thee, 
Who revellest in thy costly meats, 
Thy precious wines, and curious seats, 

And all the pride of luxury. 

" The while, within thy secret halls, 
Old men in seemly festivals 

With buxom girls in dance are going ; 
And in thy midst old Beelzebub 
Eyes, through his glass, the motley club, 

The fire with sturdy bellows blowing." 

Quoted from Le Fame del Petrarcha, (ed. Lod. Castelvetro,) torn, 
i. p. 325 ; in Dr. McCries' Hist, of the Refor. in Italy, p. 27. 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 403 

The wonder indeed is, that Christianity could 
live in such a system at all, embarrassed by 
superstition, checked by bigotry, enfeebled by 
lust. But it certainly did, and this we regard as 
one of the proofs of its divine origin, its inher- 
ent, indestructible energy.* Roman Catholicism, 
while embodying pagan elements, was ever supe- 
rior to paganism, and in a barbarous age exerted 
over society some conservative and reformatory 
influence. Even Merle D'Aubigne says that 
" important services were rendered by Catholi- 
cism to the existing European nations, in the 
age of their first formation." f All nationalities 
had been dissolved in the destruction of the 
Roman empire, and chaos brooded over society. 
Christianity formed a centre to the whole, and 
the old Teutonic nations crystallized around it. 
Thence order sprung from confusion, and all the 
vital elements of modern society were developed. 

If the church, in consequence of her power, 
became corrupt, and oppressed her subjects, she 
did so to save them from the gulf of barbarism, 
into which, inevitably, they must have plunged. 
She was a severe and bigoted mother, but she 
preserved her children from fatal anarchy and 
absolute political destruction. 

* This is what Bunsen (in Hippolytus) justly styles " the miracle 
of the last fifteen hundred years ." See Appendix, note H. 
f Hist, of the Reformation, vol. i, p. 8. 



404 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Hence Ranke justly and strikingly remarks, 
" However defective the civilization we have de- 
lineated," (the combination of the spiritual and 
temporal elements, first in the Frankish empire, 
under Charlemagne, and then in the Germanic 
nations, Christianized and united under the Papal 
sway, both of which were thus preserved from 
destruction,) " it was necessary to the complete 
naturalization of Christianity in the West. It 
was no light thing to subdue the haughty spirits 
of the north, the nations under the dominion of 
ancestral superstitions, to the ideas of Christian- 
ity. It was necessary that the religious element 
should predominate for a time, in order that it 
might gain fast hold on the German mind. By 
this, at the same time, was effected the intimate 
blending of the Roman and Germanic elements. 
There is a community among the nations of 
modern times, which has always been regarded 
as the main basis of the general civilization, a 
community in church and state, in manners, cus- 
toms, and literature. In order to produce this, 
it was necessary that the western nations should, 
for a time, form, as it were, a single state, tem- 
poral and spiritual." * 

By this means the institutions of the church 
were preserved from destruction amid the gen- 
eral transition and change, while the church lent 

* History of the Popes, vol. i. p. 40. 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 405 

its aid to the formation of national character 
and virtue. The period indeed was abnormal, 
and preparatory to something higher and better, 
now partially developed by the reformations and 
revolutions of modern times ; but it was neces- 
sary, under God, to the production of that form 
of Christian civilization yet to triumph in al] 
lands. 

It is for this reason that Macaulay speaks of 
the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christi- 
anity, as " the first of a long series of salutary 
revolutions," and adds, "It is true that the 
church had been deeply corrupted both by that 
superstition and that philosophy against which 
she had long contended, and over which she 
had at last triumphed. She had given a too 
easy admission to doctrines borrowed from the 
ancient schools, and to rites borrowed from the 
ancient temples. Roman policy and Gothic 
ignorance, Grecian ingenuity and Syrian ascet- 
icism, had contributed to deprave her. Yet she 
retained enough of the sublime theology and benev- 
olent morality of her earlier days to elevate many 
intellects and to purify many hearts. Some things, 
also, which, at a later period, were justly re- 
garded as among her chief blemishes, were in 
the seventh, century, and long afterwards, among 
her chief merits. That the sacerdotal order 
should encroach on the duty of the chief magis* 



406 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

trate, would, in our time, be a great evil. But 
that which in an age of good government is an 
evil, may in an age of grossly bad government be 
a blessing. It is better that mankind should be 
governed by wise laws well administered, and 
by an enlightened public piety, than by priest- 
craft, than by brute violence, by such a prelate 
as Dunstan than by such a warrior as Penda. 
A society sunk in ignorance, and ruled by mere 
physical force, has great reason to rejoice, when 
a class, of which the influence is intellectual 
and moral, rises to ascendency. Such a class 
will doubtless abuse its power; but mental pow- 
er, even when abused, is still a nobler and better 
power than that which consists merely in cor- 
poreal strength. "We read in the Anglo-Saxon 
chronicles of tyrants, who, when at the height 
of greatness, ' were smitten with remorse, who 
abhorred the pleasures and dignities which they 
had purchased by guilt, who abdicated their 
crowns, and who sought to atone for their of- 
fences by cruel penances and incessant prayers. 
Those stories have draw*n forth bitter expressions 
of contempt from some writers, who, while they 
boasted of liberality, were in truth as narrow 
minded as any monk of the dark ages, and 
whose habit was to apply to all events in the 
history of the world the standard received in the 
Parisian society of the eighteenth century. Yet 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 407 

surely a system which, however deformed by su- 
perstition, introduced strong moral restraints into 
com munities previously governed only by vigor of 
muscle and audacity of spirit — a system which 
taught the fiercest and mightiest ruler that he 
was, like his meanest bondman, a responsible 
being, might have seemed to deserve a more 
respectable mention from philosophers and phi- 
lanthropists." . . . 

u Even the spiritual supremacy arrogated by 
the pope was, in the dark ages, productive of 
far more good than evil. Its effect was to unite 
the nations of Western Europe in one great 
commonwealth. What the Olympian chariot 
course and the Pythian oracle were to all the 
Greek cities, from Trebizond to Marseilles, Rome 
and her bishop were to all Christians of the 
Latin communion from Calabria to the Hebrides. 
Thus grew up sentiments of enlarged benevolence. 
Races separated from each other by seas and 
mountains acknowledged a fraternal tie and a 
common code of public law. Even in war the 
cruelty of the conqueror was not seldom mitigated 
by the recollection that he and his vanquished 
enemies were all members of one great federa- 
tion." * # 

If, in the view of some, this statement require 
some slight modification, it must be admitted 

* History of England, yol. i. pp. 6-8. 



408 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

that the institution of Christianity, in its funda- 
mental principles, was the means not only of 
individual regeneration, but of social and politi- 
cal progress, and that it possessed this character 
in spite of Papal assumption and superstition, 
especially in the earlier periods of its history. 
It was under the Pontificate of the second 
Gregory, (A. D. 590,) who, with all his ambition, 
was an honest, earnest man, that we see Chris- 
tianity grasping the dissolving elements of soci- 
ety, and constructing them into those permanent 
forms from which Christendom has derived its 
civilization. It was then, too, that the Bishop 
of Rome acquired that dominion, w r hich, benefi- 
cial in its first exercise, at last all but extin- 
guished pure religion, as well as political free- 
dom. Such was the desolation around him, 
that Gregory felt that society had come to its 
termination, and that the judgment was about 
to ensue. " Every where," he says, " we behold 
sorrow ; on every side we hear groans. Cities 
are destroyed, fortresses are pulled down, the 
fields are laid waste, the land is become desolate. 
The villages are empty, and scarcely an inhabit- 
ant is left in the cities; and even this small rem- 
nant of the human race is daily and incessantly 
massacred. The scourge of divine justice does 
not rest, because no amendment has followed 
under it. We see how some are dragged to 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 409 

prison, some are mutilated, others are put to 
death."* 

In these circumstances Gregory had not only 
to preach the gospel, and administer its conso- 
lations, but, as a vassal of the Greek empire, to 
take measures for the defence of the country, 
" placed between the Longobards, thirsting for 
conquest, the governors of the Greek empire, 
often forgetful of their duties, and a court full 
of intrigues." He was equal to the emergency. 
His influence grew apace. Italy was saved, and 
the northern barbarians were brought under the 
yoke of Christ. 

That Gregory IL, and many others devoted 
to the building up of the Roman church, and 
the aggrandizement of the Papacy, such as Bon- 
iface the apostle of the Germans, who caused 
his followers to swear allegiance to St. Peter 
and the see of Rome, were disinterested Chris- 
tian men, cannot be doubted. Their influence, 
in one aspect of the case, may seem to be bad, 
as they sanctioned grievous errors and corrup- 
tions in the church of Christ; but in another, 
and that the most important, it was good, and 
only good. It gave Christianity and civilization 
to the Germanic <nations.f 

* Neander's Memorials, <£c., p. 387. 

f Upon this subject consult the works of Guizot, Hallam, Mait- 
iand, and Sismondi. 

35 



410 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

But it is in secret, and especially in the hearts 
of individual men, that God accomplishes his 
purposes of grace. It is the hidden leaven, 
which, in the long run, regenerates society. In 
the case of the church of the " dark ages," this 
work was perpetuated, even by means of imper- 
fect institutions. And this is doubtless the 
reason why the providence of God permitted 
the Papal organization to exist, during this cha- 
otic and transitional era. The thorns which 
grew up around the delicate flower of true re- 
ligion, while they diminished its beauty and 
stifled its perfume, yet protected it from ruthless 
invasion. The church, in the period of her deep- 
est degradation, was not all bad. Hence we 
find in her bosom noble spirits, devout and 
learned men, self-denying, and laborious mis- 
sionaries. What beautiful details, for example, 
are given by Neander, in his Memorials of the 
Christian Life, Light in Dark Places, in the 
Life of St. Bernard, as well as in his Church 
History, of such men as Patrick and Columban, 
of Fulgentius and Severinus, Germanus and 
Lupus, Caesarius of Aries, and Eligius, Bishop 
of Noyon, the venerable Bede, Gallus the apos- 
tle of Switzerland, the Abbot Sturm of Fulda, 
Martin of Tours, Anschar the apostle of the 
north, (who in his dreams heard a voice urging 
him to preach the gospel in Scandinavia, and 
saying, " Go, and return to me crowned with 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 411 

martyrdom,") Otto Bishop of Bamberg, and that 
strange, martyr spirit, mystic, philosopher, and 
missionary, Raimund Lulli ! During the centu- 
ries designated by historians as preeminently 
"dark ages," some faithful Christian men and 
devoted missionaries were at work, in various 
countries, sowing the seed of life "beside all 
waters." All around them lay the thick shadows 
of ignorance and superstition ; but by the bless- 
ing of Heaven, they kept the lamp of truth bright 
and clear, until the day dawned, and the day- 
star arose upon the nations. 

Even monasteries, in early times the natural 
resort of persecuted Christianity, liable as they 
were to the grossest corruption, were frequently 
the refuge of piety and worth. Thence issued 
many of those self-denying men, who by their 
toils and prayers made the wilderness to blossom 
as the rose. Here, too, were preserved, for the 
benefit of succeeding generations, not only the 
word of God and the works of the Christian 
fathers, but all the extant literature of the times. 
" The church," says Macaulay, with reference to 
this fact, " has many times been compared by 
divines to that ark of which we read in the 
Book of Genesis ; but never was the resem- 
blance more perfect than during that evil time 
when she alone rode, amid darkness and tem- 
pest; on the deluge, beneath which all the great 



412 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

works of ancient power and wisdom lay in- 
tombed, bearing within her that feeble germ 
from which a second and more glorious civiliza- 
tion was to spring." 

All must acknowledge that a certain moral as 
well as political grandeur attaches to the half- 
civilized Charlemagne and his Prankish kingdom, 
and the generous but unsuccessful efforts which 
he made to give unity and civilization to his 
empire. It paved the way for the Germanic 
confederation, and the civilization of France and 
Germany. The monk Alcuin and the schools 
which he founded, the mediaeval philosophy, par- 
ent of modern speculative thought, and the tran- 
sition from the Greek and Alexandrine schools to 
that of our more recent philosophy, were the fruit 
of Christianity. Some, who know little of it, 
affect to despise the scholastic philosophy ; but, 
with all its faults, it marvellously disciplined the 
human intellect, and prepared the way for the 
high mental achievements of the present age. 
Full of defects, and even absurdities, like the 
age from which it sprang, after all, as Leibnitz 
suggests, there was aurum in illo caeno. One of 
its grandest features was its recognition of the 
absolute Jehovah, not simply in nature, where 
he seems an impersonal Power, but in Christ, 
where he reveals himself as " the Father of us 
all." This gave scope and strength to its specu- 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 41S 

lations upon the true, the good, the holy, which 
all the efforts of Grecian genius could not reach. 
It assisted in laying the foundation of a vast 
structure, not only of speculative thought, but 
of Christian morality. 

The mediaeval church, as we call it, by which is 
usually meant the church of the twelfth century, 
— a strange gothic structure of truth and error, 
of barbarism and refinement, based upon the 
highest truths and the most extravagant assump- 
tions, — was thus not without some aspects of 
beauty and worth. Beneath the magnificent 
abbey or cathedral, which symbolized its spirit, 
lay deep dungeons, and sometimes inquisitorial 
halls, where the groans of the poor persecuted 
heretic were heard at the dead of night; but the 
cathedral itself was a thing of beauty, and 
echoed a grand, and sometimes a heartfelt wor- 
ship. As in Dante's great poem, which has been 
called the flowering of the middle ages, so here 
we find puerile superstitions and atrocious big- 
otries, mingled with lofty sentiments and grace- 
ful forms. Besides, a power was yet at work in 
the souls of men, and in the heart of society, 
which all the folly of the times could not extin- 
guish. Truth struggled for supremacy, and kept 
its hold of the secret conscience. God had his 
chosen ones, both within and without the pale 
of the Papal church. The world was not de« 
35* 



414 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

serfed by the Son of God. His spirit of love 
yet throbbed in many penitent, believing hearts. 
Here and there, in mountains and in valleys, and 
even in the depths of eities, might be found clus- 
ters of holy confessors, and faithful Christians, 
bound to God and to one another by eternal ties. 
In the solitude of cloisters, with all their evils, 
Christian scholars meditated upon divine things, 
and sent forth into the world the light of eternal 
truth. 

Such thinkers as Anselm and Aquinas, the 
one in England, the other in Italy, ranged through 
the loftiest realms of thought, combining the 
claims of reason and religion, and blending, 
not only in their works, but in their lives, the 
highest philosophy with the deepest piety.* The 
night indeed, so far as our common Christianity 
was concerned, seemed dark and portentous, but 
ever and anon the stars appeared in the peaceful 
heavens. The love of God, revealed in Christ as 
a secret power, brooded over the troubled elements. 
Angels of mercy visited the earth, in the persons 
of self-denying men ; of devout, disinterested wo- 
men. The river of life was hidden amid gloomy 
woods and precipices, but it kept its silent course, 

* In Anselm, who may be called the Plato of the middle ages, 
the philosophy of that day culminated. His Cur Deiis Homo gives, 
in its germ, the great fact or principle yet destined to solve the 
practical difficulties of " the higher philosophy." For some account 
of Anselm and Aquinas, see Appendix, Note I. 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 415 

and in due time reappeared in the smiling land- 
scape. There were reformers before the Refor- 
mation, martyrs for truth and freedom in the 
darkest days of bigotry and lust.* 

Much fine character and many generous im- 
pulses were nourished by Christianity among the 
Germanic tribes. Superstitious and somewhat 
savage, but masculine and generous, the old Ger- 
man heart loved the truth, and, we may add, 
loved God. This gave them nationality and 
force of character. This nourished among them 
many lofty, self-sacrificing souls. They suffered 
indeed, a long night of despotism and bigotry, 
but at last the fire of freedom and Christianity 
began to burn. " The friends of God*' (Gottes- 
freiuide, as they called themselves) appeared. 
These were partly laymen, partly priests or 
monks, among whom were the mystics Eckart, 
Soso, Tauler, and the anonymous author of 
" The German Theology," all longing for purity 
and freedom, loving God and the truth. These 
uttered the first living word for evangelical 
Christianity, and exemplified it in their lives.f 

* See the works of Bonnechose and Ullmann on Reformers before 
the Reformation. 

f To the same class belong John Ruysbroek, Thomas a Kempis, 
and John Charlier Gerson. At least they were animated by the same, 
spirit and exerted the same influence. Luther refers to John Tauler, 
called Doctor Sublimis et Illuminatus, in terms of affectionate venera- 
tion. Writing to Spalatine he says, " Si te delectat puram, solidam 
antiquae simillimam theologiam legere, in Germanica lingua effu- 



416 CHRIST IN HISTORY. „ 

A similar spirit animated many French divines 
and Christians. The Huguenots date far back 
for the first origin of their faith.* Peter Waldo 
and the poor men of Lyons were not alone in their 
attachment to the truth. It is well known that 
an immense influence was exerted in later times 
by Gerson, of Paris, the Doctor Christianissimus 
of the schools, a true Christian philosopher, who 
laid his vast learning at the cross of Christ, and 
deemed all science as nothing in comparison 
with the practical knowledge and love of God. 
He wrote a profound treatise on spiritual the- 
ology, called Mystica Theologia. In his old age 
he abandoned his literary and even ecclesiastical 
honors, and devoted himself to the education of 
little children, for whose benefit he wrote a re- 
markable treatise, De Parvulis ad Deum ducen- 
dis, Of the art of leading tittle children to God. 
Though he never left the Catholic church, and in 

sam, sermones Johannis Tauleri, prsedicatoriae professions tibi 
compare potes." The anonymous Little Book on German 
Theology (Buchlein der Deutsche?! Theologie) was first pub- 
lished A. D. 1516, by Luther, with a recommendatory preface, 
in which he says, " Next to the Bible and St. Augustine, I do not 
know of any book from which I have learnt better what God, Christ, 
man, and all things are." The true name of Thomas a Kempis was 
Thomas Hamerken of Kempen. He was sub-prior of the Aug as- 
tinian monks on St. Agnes Mount near Zwoll, and died A. D., 1471. 
His Imitation of Christ, however, has been ascribed by some (Cousin, 
for example) to Abbot Gersen, or John Gerson. John Charlie* 
Gerson, Chancellor of Paris, died A. D. 1429. 

* See De Felice's History of the Reformed Church in France, 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 4lV 

his earlier years defended some of its corruptions, 
he was a Protestant at heart, as his writings tes- 
tify. His views were more conservative than those 
of Wicliff, nay, in some respects, opposed to his, 
yet, in the end, they exerted a similar influence. If 
Wicliff was "the morning star" of the Reforma- 
tion in England, Gerson was such in France and 
Germany. The latter country, in which his writ- 
ings advocating reform in the church w T ere exten- 
sively read, received from Gerson a powerful 
impulse in favor of evangelical religion. 

How many followers had Arnoldo of Brescia, 
and Savonarola of Florence, and what noble 
sentiments of civil and religious freedom did they 
promulgate, at the hazard of their lives. Black- 
ened as their characters have been by the emis- 
saries of the Papal church, both were men of 
singular piety and heroic virtue. Born out of 
due time, they sought for a freedom which they 
could not realize, and so died for the truth. One 
of his enemies, Tritemio, makes Arnoldo address 
the following words to the pope and cardinals : 
" I call heaven and earth to witness that I have 
announced to you these things which the Lord 
has commanded. But you despise both me and 
your Creator. Nor is it wonderful that you are 
about to put me, a simple man, to death, for 
preaching to you the truth, since, if even St. 
Peter were to arise from the dead this day, and 



418 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

were to reprove your many vices, ye would by 
no means spare him."* 

In England, as early as the thirteenth century, 
we find Grostete (Greathead) Bishop of Lincoln 
protesting against the abuses of the Papacy, and 
vindicating his allegiance to Christ. He died 
rejoicing in the truth, having maintained his 
integrity to the end, in opposition to the 
power of Rome, and was recognized in that day, 
by the voice of the community, " as a searcher 
of the Scriptures, an adversary of the pope, and 
the despiser of the Romans." Sewal Arch- 
bishop of York professed similar sentiments; 
for "the more the pope cursed him, the more the 
people blessed him." Thomas Bradwardine, in 
the fourteenth century, chaplain of Edward III. 
and subsequently Archbishop of Canterbury, one 
of the most amiable and learned men of his day, 
and a humble follower of Christ, bore ample 
testimony to the fundamental doctrines of the 
gospel.f. 

The Scriptures, or portions of them, must have 
been translated into Italian at a very early period, 
and hence, under the very shadow of the Roman 
see, the grace of God was found working in the 

* Ego testem invoco cesium, etc. Quoted from the North Brit- 
ish Review from Tritemius. 

f Some interesting details with reference to similar characters 
in England previous to the Reformation, may be found in the 
fifth volume of Merle D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation. 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 419 

hearts of humble and inquiring souvk Frag- 
ments of such translations appeared in the four- 
teenth century. In 1471 a version of the Scrip- 
tures, by Nicolo Malermi, or Malerbi, was pub- 
lished at Venice, and is said to have gone 
through nine editions in that century, and twelve 
in the succeeding. A better one appeared in 
the beginning of the sixteenth century, by Anto- 
nio Brucioli. His edition of the New Testa- 
ment was published at Venice for the first time 
in 1530, and the whole Bible two years later. 
Other versions rapidly followed. The revival 
of learning introduced not only the Greek clas- 
sics, but editions of the Greek Testament and of 
the Septuagint, which fell into the hands of 
thoughtful scholars. The works of Augustine 
and other Christian fathers were also more or less 
studied. Giovanni Pico, one of the greatest 
scholars of his day, who had mastered twenty- 
two languages before he was twenty-five, and 
died in 1494, in the thirty-second year of his 
age, was a true Christian. His spirit, breathed 
through his writings, is remarkably evangelical. 
Indeed he narrowly escaped being burned as a 
heretic. Many valuable commentaries on the 
sacred Scriptures were written by learned and 
pious men, at a very early period, both in Italy 
and elsewhere. The relation of Nicholas Lyra 
to Luther was made the subject of a lively pun 



4*20 citiust ix nisTORT. 

in the days of the latter: Si Lyra non lyrasset, 
Lutheras non saltasset. If Lyra had not sung t 

Luther had not danced. 

In the days of Tasso and Queen Renee, a 
noble and pious woman, how many Italians 
were found in Ferrara and other parts of Italy, 
animated by the deepest piety, just at the break- 
ing forth of the Reformation ! It is true, the 
works of the Reformers had reached Italy, but 
they found in these Italian hearts a congenial 
soil. Some of these were members of the 
Papal church, and others were Protestants. Vic- 
toria Colonna, the far-famed Marchioness of Pes- 
cara, the friend of Michael Angelo and Olympia 
Morata, was at heart a Protestant. After the 
death of her husband, she devoted herself to 
study and works of piety. Her poems and let- 
ters, some of them of great beauty, are imbued 
with a profoundly religious spirit. Her corre- 
spondence with Olympia Morata and others 
shows that her heart was given to Christ. How 
touchingly does she console a friend for the loss 
of her brother, " whose serene spirit had entered 
into eternal peace ! " Thence she adds, that 
" she ought not to lament, since she could now 
converse with him ; his absences, once so frequent 
could no longer hinder him being understood by 
her." Nor was her piety of a monastic order ; 
for Aretino thus writes of her, " that it was certain- 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 421 

ly not her opinion that the muteness of the 
tongue, or the casting down of the eyes, or the 
coarse garment, availed any thing, but the pure 
soul." 

Even under the shadow of the court of the 
polished but profligate Leo X. a few distinguished 
men of Rome had established the " Oratory of 
Divine Love " for their common edification. 
"In the church of S. Sylvestro and S. Dorotea, 
in the Trastevere, not far from the spot where 
St. Peter was thought to have lived and to have 
presided over the first meeting of Christians, 
they assembled for divine worship, preaching and 
spiritual exercises. They met to the number of 
fifty or sixty. Contarini, Sadoleto, Giberto, 
Caraffa, all of whom afterwards became cardi- 
nals, Gaetano de Thiene, who was canonized, 
Lippomano, a theological writer of great reputa- 
tion and influence, and some other celebrated 
men, were amongst them. Giuliano Bathi, the 
priest of that church, served as a centre of the 
circle." 

Quite an interesting group of pious souls, 
some of them men of considerable eminence, 
might be found, about the same time, in Venice. 
There the celebrated Benedictine monk Bernar- 
dino Ochino, one of the greatest preachers of 
the age, vindicated the doctrine of justification 
by faith, giving force, by the purity and elevation 
36 



422 CHRIST IN HISTORY 

of his life, to the impassioned appeals of his 
eloquence. He was heard with delight by Bem- 
bo. Caraffa, and Vittoria Colonna. Afterwards 
persecuted as a Protestant, he delighted, by his 
sincerity and fervor, multitudes, who were sub- 
sequently horrified by his open Protestantism. 
< ; I opened my heart to him," says Bembo, " as 
to Christ himself. It seemed to me I had never 
beheld a holier man." 

At the house of Pietro Bembo, subsequently 
cardinal, which was open to all who chose to 
attend, the conversation, though chiefly literary 
and often frivolous, sometimes turned upon 
more important matters. It assumed a deeper 
and more pious tone at that of the learned 
Gregorio Cortese, the Abbot of San Giorgo 
Maggiore at Venice. Marco of Padua was a 
man of the deepest piety. It was from him 
that Pole professed to derive spiritual nutriment. 
But the most eminent of all was Caspar Con- 
tarini, of whom Pole said that he was ignorant 
of nothing that the human mind could discover 
by its own research, and that he crowned his 
knowledge with virtue. Contarini wrote a trea- 
tise on the doctrine of justification, of which 
Cardinal Pole speaks in terms of the highest 
praise. '* You have brought to light," says he, 
" the jewel which the church kept half concealed." 
Would to God that Pole himself had carried out 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 428 

his earlier and better views, for he speaks of this 
doctrine as " holy, indispensable, fruitful truth." 
" The gospel," says Contarini, in one of his 
letters, " is no other than the blessed tidings, 
that the only-begotten Son of God, clad in our 
flesh, hath made satisfaction for us to the justice 
of his eternal Father. He who believes this 
enters into the kingdom of God ; he enjoys the 
universal pardon ; from a carnal he becomes a 
spiritual creature ; from a child of wrath a child 
of grace ; he lives in a sweet peace of con- 
science." 

In voluptuous Naples, then under Spanish 
rule, the same great truth was taught by Valdez, 
a Spaniard, secretary to the viceroy ; but unfor- 
tunately his writings are lost. In 1540 a book was 
published entitled " Of the Benefits of Christ's 
Death," breathing the soul of evangelical reli- 
gion, which, as a decree of the Inquisition ex- 
pressed it, " treated in an insinuating manner of 
justification, deprecated works and meritorious 
acts, ascribed all merit to faith alone : as this was 
the very point which was at that time a stum- 
bling block to many prelates and monks, it ob- 
tained extraordinary circulation." This book 
was written, as the decree of the Inquisition ex- 
presses it, by a monk of San Severino, a pupil 
of Valdez.* It spread every where, especially in 

* It has oeen ascribed to Aonio Paleario, another celebrated Ital- 
ian Protestant. 



424 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Italy, and produced an immense sensation. Re- 
vised by Flaminio, it prepared the hearts of 
many for the Reformation. Valdez, however, 
founded no sect. His book was the fruit of 
liberal study and Christian piety. He enjoyed 
the quiet retreats of nature in the vicinity of 
Naples, in profitable conversation with his 
friends. " A portion of his soul sufficed," says 
one who knew him, " to animate his frail, attenu- 
ated body ; the larger part of his clear, untroubled 
intellect was ever raised aloft in the contempla- 
tion of truth." One of his friends was Vittoria 
Colonna, already mentioned, who, after the 
death of her husband, occupied a beautiful re- 
treat on one of the islands in the vicinity of 
Naples, and spent much of her time in literary 
and pious conversation with such persons as 
Valdez. The Duke of Palliano, and his wife 
Giulia Gonzago, reputed to be the most beauti- 
ful woman in Italy, adopted the same senti- 
ments, and took part in these conversations. 

Indeed, many bishops and distinguished lay- 
men favored the doctrines which subsequently 
entered the Reformation, and formed its animat- 
ing spirit. Those, indeed, who became open 
Protestants in Italy were cruelly persecuted by 
the Papal hierarchy. The prisons of Ferrara, 
of Venice, and of Rome heard the groans of the 
martyrs. Some, as the noble Carnessechi, were 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 425 

beheaded or burned at the stake. Calabria was 
deluged with Protestant blood. But the infer- 
ence is a legitimate one, that multitudes, in pre- 
ceding ages, must have loved the Savior, who 
had neither the strength nor the opportunity, 
perhaps not even the desire, to leave the Papal 
church.* The churches of the Waldenses have 
lived through a period of at least eight hundred 
years. They date beyond the days of Peter 
Waldo, and derive their name rather from their 
mountain home, than from any human teacher. 
Stigmatized and persecuted by the dominant 
church, like the Paulicians of the East, or the 
Albigenses of the West, they clung to the word 
of God amid all changes and trials. Number- 
ing even now thirty thousand, they have en- 
dured the most appalling persecutions. They 
have passed through thirty wars, twelve of 
which were intended to be wars of extermina- 
tion.! 

The Catholic church in Germany, corrupt as it 
was in the days of Tetsel, preserved some spirit 

* For details respecting Protestantism in Italy, see McCries' An- 
nals of the Reformation in Italy. See also Ranke's History of the 
Popes, i. pp. 96, 101, and Baird's Protestantism in Italy. 

j For information on the Waldenses, see Dr. Baird's Protestant- 
ism in Italy, Allix's Churches of Piedmont, Leger's Histoire des 
Eglises Evangeliques, the Ancient Valenses and Albigenses, by G. 
S. Faber, Morland's Hist, of the Evangelical Churches, &c, Hen 
ders^n's " Vaudois," and Gilly's Waldensian Researches. 

36* 



(2i> CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

of freedom and of piety. Staupitz, the friend 
and spiritual teacher of Luther, never left the 
order of the Augustinians. It was from him, 
as well as from the Bible, which Luther first saw 
chained in the convent at Erfurth, that he re- 
ceived the doctrine of justification by faith. He 
carefully studied the writings of Augustine, as 
well as those of Occam and Gerson. It was an 
old monk who enlightened him respecting the 
doctrine of the forgiveness of sin, and by God's 
blessing brought it home to his heart, in a season 
of deep depression.* On another occasion we 
find him referring with affectionate respect to 
one of his old friends, John Braum, " holy and 
venerable priest of Christ and of Mary." Ursula, 
the wife of Conrad Cotta, both good Catholics, 
and others of his old acquaintances, were truly 
pious. Speaking of the former, he says, " There 
is nothing sweeter than the heart of a pious 
woman/' Undoubtedly many such women might 
have been found in the old German church, even 
in the times of ignorance and superstition. 
Claudius of Turin, Peter de Bruys, Gabriel 
Biel, John de Wickliff, John Huss, Jerome of 
Prague, John Knox, and Thomas Cranmer, all 
received their training in the dominant church. f 

* D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, vol. i. p. 154. 
t Xo thanks, however, to the Papal hierarchy, the whole endeav- 
or of which has been to crush and extinguish such men. Could the 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 427 

In a word, there is abundant evidence to show 
that Christ was in the church of the middle 
ages, as a regenerative power, and that from 
this source sprang the Reformation of the six- 
teenth century. 

Catholic, and even the Roman, or Italian church, only throw off 
this Papal incubus, and return to primitive simplicity, it might yet 
bless the world. 



CHAPTER XVII, 

CHRIST IN THE REFORMATION 

That a system, divine in its origin, and super- 
natural in its resources, should, in consequence 
of its embodiment among men, be corrupted and 
abused, is not only quite conceivable, but alto- 
gether probable. It cannot, however, in its 
essence, either be tarnished or extinguished. It 
lives, it struggles to be free, it eventually casts 
off the tyranny and superstition of ages. Thus 
one thing, and one alone, produced the Reforma- 
tion of the sixteenth century, though many things 
concurred to aid its development. It was a natu- 
ral, it was also a supernatural movement ; for 
the Spirit of God, transforming the hearts of good 
men, and controlling the actions of bad ones, is 
visible through the whole. As usual, however, 
in mighty revolutions, which change the current 
of human affairs, and affect the welfare of 
states and empires, all things were prepared be- 
forehand. In this respect, as of old, it was " the 
fulness of time." Thence it was not an insu- 
lated event, but rather the result of many previ- 
ous events, and many invisible forces, working 

(428) 



THE REFORMATION. 129 

long and silently under the surface of things. 
It has been said that the germ of the reformation 
lay in the heart of Wickliff and Waldo. So 
also it lay in the heart of Augustine, of St. Paul, 
of Jesus Christ. Luther was its principal agent 
in Germany ; but it was not, as some have 
designated it, Luther's Reformation. Nor was 
Lutheranism its proper result. That was a 
mere incident in its history. Its result is even 
now revealed only in part. By and by the ages 
will discover it. A free Bible — a free church — 
a free Christianity — love, purity, joy, activity, 
hope in God and for God, in the world and for 
the world — that is its result. Its latent or ulti- 
mate cause is the presence of Christ among 
men. The more obvious and immediate causes, 
or what we call such, were various movements 
and changes in the hearts of individuals, and in 
the state of society which preceded the sixteenth 
century. It is interesting, however, to see the 
streams of history converge, to see the waters, 
from various quarters, commingle and flow in one 
resistless tide. 

The civilized world began to awake from the 
slumber of ages. The authority of the school- 
men was doubted or rejected. The superstitions 
of the twelfth century were losing their hold of 
reflective minds. Learning and science revived 
together. A spirit of inquiry, blind, impulsive, 



430 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

irregular, but hopeful, diffused itself over Europe, 
Kings and emperors were becoming impatient 
of the Papal sway. They were casting off,. or 
curtailing, one by one, its despotic interference 
with their governments. They did not abandon 
the church, but they were quite willing to aban- 
don the pope, whenever, at least, it suited their 
ambitious views. The popes themselves seemed 
struck with fatal blindness and imbecility. Even 
Pope Leo X., " the Magnificent," as he has 
been termed, failed utterly to check the Reforma- 
tion, or give security to the Papacy. He was at 
the height of human prosperity. His troops had 
entered Milan, and victory had perched upon his 
standard. He was filled with exultation ; but in 
that moment he died. " Pray for me," said he 
to his attendants ; " I still make you all happy." 
He loved life, he loved the world, but his hour 
was come. He had not time to secure the viati- 
cum or extreme unction, " So suddenly, so early, 
so full of high hope, he died as the poppy fadeth." 
The historian adds, H The Roman people could 
not forgive him for dying without the sacrament, 
for spending so much money, and for leaving 
debts. They accompanied his body to the grave, 
with words of reproach and indignity. " You 
glided in like a fox," said they, " you've ruled 
like a lion, you have died like a dog."* 

* Ranke's History of the Popes, p. 70. 



THE REFORMATION. 431 

Leo, indeed, had some generous qualities ; 
his, too, was a great epoch in the advancement 
of the race, to which, perhaps, he contributed 
something, though vastly less than is generally 
supposed. For, as Carlyle justly suggests, he 
was but a splendid pagan. Passionately fond 
of music, sculpture, and painting, he encouraged 
these beautiful and humanizing arts. Ariosto, 
neglected by him in old age, was one of the 
companions of his youth. Machiavelli wrote 
several of his productions at his suggestion. 
Bembo revolved around him as one of the bright- 
est literary stars of his court; Raphael filled his 
chambers, halls, and galleries with immortal 
beauty ; and Michael Angelo, to whom he was 
frequently unjust, erected for him the dome of 
St. Peter's. His admirers speak of him as 
learned and bountiful, and some of them (devo- 
tees of the Papal court) go so far as to call him 
amiable and religious! But Leo was a lover of 
pleasure more than a lover of God. He in- 
dulged in feasting and sports, in luxury and sen- 
sual delights. " He spent the autumn in rural 
pleasures ; he took the diversion of hawking at 
Viterbo, of stag hunting at Corneto, and of fish- 
ing on the Lake of Bolsena, after which he passed 
some time at his favorite seat at Malliano, where 
he was accompanied by men of those light and 
supple talents which enliven every passing hour. 



132 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

In the winter he returned to the city, which was 
in the highest state of [material] prosperity.* 
Never was the court more lively, more agreeable, 
more intellectual; no expenditure was too great 
to be lavished on religious and secular festivals, 
or amusements and theatres, on presents and 
marks of favor. It was heard with pleasure that 
Giuliano Medici, with his young wife, thought 
of making Rome his residence. " Praised be 
God," Cardinal Bibbiena writes to him, " the 
only thing we want is a court with ladies ! " The 
historian might have added, that several of the 
cardinals had sons and nephews to provide for ; 
and the character of Leo himself was not free 
from the taint of impurity.f 

* Ranke. 

f We append the testimony of Prescott, the historian, and Mari- 
otti, a distinguished Italian writer, with reference to the character 
of Leo. After showing the impropriety of calling him the Maece- 
nas of literature, and proving that he had less to do with the ad- 
vancement of the arts than is generally supposed, Prescott adds, 
"Ariosto, his ancient friend, he coldly neglected, while he pensioned 
the infamous Aretin. He surrounded his table with buffoon literati, 
and parasitical poets, who amused him with feats of improvisation, 
gluttony, and intemperance, some of whom, after expending on 
them his convivial wit, he turned over to public derision, and most 
of whom, debauched in morals and constitution, were abandoned, 
under his austere successor, to infamy and death. He magnificent- 
ly recompensed his musical retainers, making one an archbishop, 
another an archdeacon ; but what did he do for his countryman, 
Machiavelli, the philosopher of his age ? He hunted, and hawked, 
and caroused ; every thing was a jest, and while the nations of Eu- 
rope stood aghast at the growing heresy of Luther, the merry pon- 



THE REFORMATION. 433 

The schools of philosophy, fostered by the pre- 
dominant taste, were infidel in their tendency. 
The most distinguished philosopher of that day, 
Pietro Pomponazzo, denied the immortality of 
the soul. Erasmus expresses his astonishment at 
the blasphemies he heard in Rome. An attempt 
was made to prove to him, a foreigner, from the 
works of Pliny, that there was no real difference 
between the souls of men and of beasts. The 
lower orders were degraded and superstitious, the 
higher sceptical and Epicurean. A few longed 
for better things ; but even Bembo, the elegant, 
the half religious poet and cardinal, never forsook 
the beautiful Morosina ; and yet so nice was he 
in his notions, that he was wont to speak of the 
Holy Spirit as " the sacred or divine zephyr " ! 
How amazed was the youthful Luther, when he 
visited the Eternal City, (in the time of Pope 
Julius,) to witness the impieties of the people and 
clergy ! He informs us that, at the very moment 

tiff and his ministers found strange matter of mirth in witnessing 
the representation of comedies that exposed the impudent mumme- 
ries of priestcraft." — Miscellanies, p. 522. 

" The memory of Leo," says Mariotti, "as an Italian prince, is 
disgraced by a system of irresolute, improvident, unprincipled poli- 
cy ; as a Roman pontiff, by a lavish, venal, simoniacal abuse of his 
sacred ministry ; as a private man, by a free indulgence in a wanton 
and sometimes even vulgar epicurism. . . . The epoch of the 
greatest triumph of letters . . . the age of Leo and Clement 
was also that of the utmost depravation of morals." — Italy, &c, 
vol. i. p. 352. 

37 



434 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the offering of the mass was finished, they uttered 
words of levity and blasphemy which denied its 
efficacy. Machiavelli, in his Dissertation on the 
First Decade of Livy, says, "that the greatest 
symptom of the approaching destruction of 
Christianity (the Papal religion) is, that the 
nearer we approach the capital of Christendom, 
the less we find of the Christian spirit in the 
people." ..." The Italians," he adds, " are 
principally indebted to the church for having be- 
come impious and profligate." It was the tone 
of good society at Rome to question the evidences 
of Christianity. " No one passed," says P. Ant. 
Bandino, " for an accomplished man, who did not 
entertain heretical opinions about Christianity; 
at the couit the ordinances of the Catholic church, 
and passages of holy writ, were spoken of only 
in a jesting manner; the mysteries of the faith 
were despised." 

The atrocities of Pope Alexander VI. and of 
his son Caesar Borgia are well known, and need 
not be detailed here. 

Indeed, Rome was beginning to be recognized 
by multitudes throughout Christendom as the 
Babylon of the Apocalypse. It was worse than 
in the days of Petrarch, who describes it as " im- 
pious Babylon," u avaricious Babylon," " the 
school of error," "the temple of heresy," "the 
foul nest of treason," " the forge of fraud," " the 



THE REFORMATION. 435 

hell of the living." * Whatever it might have 
heev in the early centuries, and whatever benefits 
it might have conferred on society, it was now 
" the visible Antichrist," sitting in the temple of 
God, and calling itself divine, yet " drunk with 
the blood of saints," and tyrannizing over the 
bodies and the souls of men. This, therefore, 
prepared the way for the great change that ensued. 
Thousands, in England, Scotland, Germany, and 
France, were longing for the rise of a better faith 
and a purer morality. 

Yet with all its vice, the pretensions of Rome 
to supreme authority and infallibility were never 
more lofty and clamorous. Poor Germany, hon- 
est at heart, but superstitious, was priest-ridden, 
and fleeced to supply not only the extravagance 
of her own clergy, but the rapacity of Rome. 
Peter-pence and indulgence brought immense 
sums into the Papal treasury; and if any sincere 
soul, hungering for the bread of life, or disgusted 
with the vices of the clergy, dared to utter a voice 
of protest, he was branded as a heretic, and 
dragged to imprisonment or execution. The 
ignorance, superstition, and bigotry of the monks, 
Dominican and Franciscan, were open to the day, 
and excited the disgust of all pure and thought- 
ful men. Reuchlin and Erasmus, after Wick lift' 
and Huss, poured upon them unmeasured scorn* 

* Petrarchi Opwa, torn. iii. p. 149. 



436 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Most decisive upon some of these points is the 
testimony of Duke George of Saxony, a mem- 
ber of the Papal church, and one of Luther's 
most determined enemies, as given at the Diet of 
Worms. Opposed to the Reformers, yet favorable 
to the removal of abuses within the Church itself, 
he made the following reply to the Papal nuncio, 
who wished Luther and the Reformation to be 
involved in the same sentence of condemnation. 
" The Diet," said he, "must not lose sight of the 
grievances of which it has to claim redress from 
the court of Rome. How numerous are the 
abuses that have crept into our dominions. The 
annats, which the emperor granted of his free will 
for the good of religion, now exacted as a due ; the 
Roman courtiers daily inventing new regulations 
to favor the monopoly, the sale, the leasing out of 
ecclesiastical benefices ; a multitude of offences 
connived at ; a scandalous toleration granted to 
rich offenders, while those who have not where- 
withal to pay to purchase impunity are severely 
punished ; the pope's continually bestowing re- 
versions and rent charges on the officers of their 
palace, to the prejudice of those to whom the 
benefices rightly belong ; the abbeys and convents 
of Rome, given in commendam to cardinals, bish- 
ops, and prelates, who apply the revenues to their 
own use, so that in many convents, where there 
ought to be twenty or thirty monks, there is not 



THE REFORMATION. 437 

one to be found; stations multiplied to excess; 
shops for indulgences opened in every street and 
square of our cities ; shops of St. Anthony, of the 
Holy Ghost, of St. Hubert, of St. Vincent, and I 
know not how many more ; societies contracting 
to Rome for the privilege of setting up this trade, 
then purchasing from their bishop the right of 
exposing their merchandise to sale ; and finally, 
to meet all this outlay of money, squeezing and 
draining the last coin out of the poor man's 
purse; indulgences, which ought to be granted 
only with a view to the salvation of souls, and 
procured only by prayer, and fasting, and works 
of charity, sold for a price ; the officials of the 
bishops oppressing men of low degree with 
penances for blasphemy, or adultery, or drunken- 
ness, or profanation of this and that festival, but 
never addressing so much as a rebuke to ecclesi- 
astics who are guilty of the same crimes; pen- 
ances so devised as to betray the penitent into 
the repetition of his offence, in order that more 
money may be extracted from him, — these are 
but a few of the abuses which cry out on Rome 
for redress. All shame is laid aside, and one 
object alone incessantly pursued — money ! ever- 
more money! So that the very men whose duty 
is to disseminate the truth, are engaged in noth- 
ing but the propagation of falsehood; and yet 
they are not merely tolerated, but rewarded : 
37* 



4o8 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

because the more they lie, the larger are their 
gains. This is the foul source from which so 
many corrupted streams flow out on every side. 
Profligacy and avarice go hand in hand. The 
officials summon women to their houses on vari- 
ous pretences, and endeavor, either by threats or 
by presents, to seduce them, and if the attempt 
fails, they ruin their reputation. O, it is the 
scandal occasioned by the clergy that plunges so 
many poor souls into everlasting perdition. A 
thorough reform must be effected. To accom- 
plish that reform, a general council must be as- 
sembled. Therefore, most excellent princes and 
lords, I respectfully beseech you to give this 
matter your attention." * 

The word of God had been sought out of dirty 
corners, and studied in the original tongue." It 
was translated also to some extent, and made its 
w T ay into some homes and hearts. Copies here 
and there, in Latin or in the vulgar tongue, fell 
into the hands of thinkers, and opened their 
eyes to the beauty of primitive Christianity, in 
contrast with the errors of Rome. In Germany, 
the writings of St. Augustine, Gerson, Thomas 
a Kempis, and others were read and studied by 
pious monks ; for happily amid the prevalent 
corruption there were some sincere souls. When 
tkese failed to convert them, they yet discovered 

* Preserved in the archives of Weimar. 



THE REFORMATION. 439 

the mournful condition of Christendom, and pre- 
pared the way for a better order of things. 

Some attempts, too, had been made, but with- 
out success, within the bosom of the church 
itself, to reform its abuses. This was the pro- 
fessed object of the Council of Constance. 
Princes and electors, dukes and ambassadors from 
all nations, with learned church dignitaries, doc- 
tors of theology, and representatives from the 
universities, gave dignity and importance to the 
occasion. But alas ! instead of reforming the b 
church, they gave Huss to the flames. A com- 
mission, however, was appointed, of deputies 
from different nations, to propose a fundamental 
reform. The Emperor Sigismund, who violated 
his safe conduct to Huss, supported the proposi- 
tion w r ith all the weight of his influence. The 
council concurred unanimously. The cardinals 
bound themselves by a solemn oath, that he 
among them who should be elected pope, — for 
this duty, among others, had to be performed by 
the council, which, in furtherance of its objects, 
had deposed three popes, — would not dissolve 
the assembly, or leave Constance, without accom- 
plishing the desired reformation. The election 
fell upon Colon na, under the name of Martin V. 
With intense interest the members of the assem- 
bly awaited the result. " The council is at an 
end!" cried Martin V., w^ith startling Papa] 



440 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

consistency, the moment he had placed the tiara 
on his head. A cry of grief and indignation 
arose from Sigismund and the clergy ; but it 
was no more heeded than the idle wind which 
fanned the flames of John Huss. " On the 16th 
of May, 1418," says the historian, "the pope, 
arrayed in the pontifical robes, mounted a mule 
richly caparisoned ; the emperor was on his right 
hand, the Elector of Brandenburg on his left, 
each holding the reins of his palfrey ; four counts 
supported over the pope's head a magnificent 
canopy ; several princes surrounded him, bearing 
the trappings ; and a mounted train of forty 
thousand persons, composed of nobles, knights, 
and clergy of all ranks, joined in solemn proces- 
sion outside the walls of Constance." Thus did 
Rome laugh at reform, and fasten the fetters of 
her tyrannous dominion. 

"There are three things," says Vadiscus, a trav- 
eller introduced into the tract which Ulrich Von 
Hutten published, after his return from Rome, 
"which we commonly bring away with us from 
Rome : — a bad conscience, a vitiated stomach, 
and an empty purse. There are three things which 
Rome does not believe in : the immortality of the 
soul, the resurrection of the dead, and hell. There 
are three things which Rome trades in : the grace 
of Christ, the dignity of the church, and women." 

These grievous moral and political wrongs 



THE REFORMATION. 441 

stirred the hearts even of worldly men, and 
awakened sometimes, in the breasts of kings and 
rulers, educated under Papal influence, a longing 
for redress and reform. " I will destroy the name 
of Babylon," (Perdam nomen Babylonish) were 
the words stamped upon a medal issued by the 
impetuous Louis XII. Maximilian of Austria, 
grieved at the treachery of Leo X., exclaimed, 
" This pope, like the rest, is, in my judgment, a 
scoundrel. Henceforth, I can say, that, in all my 
life, no pope has kept his faith or word with me. 
I hope, if God be willing, that this one" will be 
the last of them." Similar sentiments were oc- 
casionally expressed by poets and historians, 
among others by Machiavelli, who charges upon 
them all the political difficulties of Italy, the 
wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, and the 
destruction of Italian liberty and nationality.* 
This acted, of course, to some extent, upon the 
people, many of whom were weary of the Papal 
sway. 

But not all these causes combined could pro- 
duce the Reformation. That was effected by the 

* In the first book of his History of Florence, after stating how 
these difficulties had lasted from the days of Theodosius, he adds,' 
'* So that all the wars which foreigners afterwards made upon Italy 
were chiefly owing to the popes ; and most of the several inunda- 
tions of barbarians that poured themselves into it, were, in a great 
measure, occasioned by their incitement and instigation; which 
practices, being continued even to this time, have so long kept, and 
still keep, Italy weak and divided. 7 ' 



412 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

reproduction, among those who read and believed 
the word of God, of the spirit of primitive 
Christianity. Once more the Son of God took 
possession of selected agents, great, generous, 
courageous hearts, "born from above," .who, 
fired with the love of truth, went forth to oppose 
error, and proclaim " glad tidings of great joy to 
all people." The first great impulse in continen- 
tal Europe issued from Wittemberg, and thence 
spread itself in successive waves to the remotest 
parts of the Christian world. 

The Reformation was not a speculation or a 
theory, springing from some profound or original 
intellect; neither was it a preconcerted plan of 
wise, far-seeing men ; above all, it was not a mere 
social or political change. Those chiefly con- 
cerned in it, at first, thought nothing of the stu- 
pendous result to which they were irresistibly 
conducted. Luther himself was as clay in the 
hand of the potter. Long years intervened, after 
he opposed indulgences, before he dreamed of 
opposing the Papacy, or abandoning the Roman 
church. It w 7 as the love of Christ, of truth, and 
of the souls of men, which impelled him to the 
sublime issue. Over and over again, Luther de- 
clares, that not " of choice, but of necessity," — a 
necessity which he could not resist if he would, 
and would not resist if he could, — he was 
carried forward in his perilous career. " God," 



THE REFORMATION. 443 

he says, on one occasion, " does not conduct, but 
drives me, and carries me forward. I am not 
master of my own actions. I would gladly live 
in peace, but I am cast into the midst of tumult 
and changes." 

Gladly he would have retired from the combat, 
if Rome would only permit him and other " poor 
sinners " to live in peace and follow Christ. Nay, 
he would never have entered into it, unless com- 
pelled for his soul's sake, and the truth of God. 
To oppose the church of his fathers, and, above 
all, to leave her, was agony and crucifixion, only 
compensated by the thought that God was with 
him, and that the gospel would stand forever. 
" I began this affair," is his own testimony, 
wrung from the depths of his heart, "with great 
fear and trembling. What was I at that time ; 
a poor, wretched, contemptible friar, more like a 
corpse than a man ? Who was I, to oppose the 
pope's majesty, before which not only the kings 
of the earth, and the whole world, trembled, but 
also, if I may so speak, heaven and hell were 
constrained to obey the slightest intimation of 
his will ? No one can know what I suffered those 
two first years, and in what dejection, I might say 
despair, I was often plunged. Those proud spirits, 
who Rafter wards attacked the pope with such bold- 
ness, can form no idea of my sufferings ; though, 
with all their skill, they could have done him no 



44 1 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

injury, if Christ had not inflicted upon him, 
through me, his weak and unworthy instrument, 
a wound from which he will never recover. But 
whilst they were satisfied to look on, and leave 
me to face the danger alone, I was not so happy, 
so calm, or so sure of success; for I did not then 
know many things, which now, thanks be to 
God, I do know. There were, it is true, many 
pious Christians, who were much pleased with 
my propositions, and thought highly of them. 
But I was not able to recognize these, or look 
upon them as inspired by the Holy Ghost ; I 
only looked to the pope, the cardinals, the bishops, 
the theologians, the jurisconsults, the monks, the 
priests. It was from thence that I expected the 
Spirit to breathe. However, after having tri- 
umphed, by means of the Scriptures, over all 
opposing arguments, I at last overcame, by the 
grace of Christ, with much anguish, labor, and 
great difficulty, the only argument that still 
stopped me, namely, that I must hear the church ; 
for from my heart I honored the church of the 
pope, as the true church, and I did so with more 
sincerity and veneration than those disgraceful 
and infamous corrupters of the church, who, to 
oppose me, now so much extol it. If I had de- 
spised the pope, as those persons do in their 
hearts who praise him so much with their lips, 



THE REFORMATION. 445 

I should have feared that the earth would open 
at that instant, and swallow me up alive." 

No, it was Christianity itself, rising from the 
grave of superstition in which it was intombed, 
taking possession of the hearts of Luther, My- 
conius, Melancthon, and others, and going forth, 
as of old, to regenerate the world. This was 
the real secret, the true power of the Reforma- 
tion. No other religions have ever reformed or re- 
produced themselves, with fresh and living energy. 
Divested of their original power by formalism 
and corruption, they have ever remained so, or 
passed away. Separate from Christianity, Juda- 
ism has no power of reproduction and revival. 
Indeed, all other religions, even in their best 
state, are local or national, and remain station- 
ary or die out altogether. But Christianity re- 
news itself, rises above the corruption with 
which it is invested, arid exhibits the same vital, 
regenerative power as in the days of Christ and 
his apostles. 

The agents by which this was accomplished, 
in the Reformation of the sixteenth centu- 
ry, were in themselves human and insignifi- 
cant. They derived their success, as they fre- 
quently and frankly testify, from an unseen 
power, controlling events, and working mightily 
in them and others. What had the son of the 
poor miner of Mansfeld, born at Eisleben, as 
38 



446 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Christ was born at Bethlehem, to do with ref- 
ormations and revolutions ? Nay, what had the 
poor monk of Erfurt, groaning over his sins, and 
despairing of the grace of God, to do with such 
things ? What even had the humble Wittem- 
berg professor, a submissive doctor of the Papal 
church, lecturing on Paul's Epistles to the Gala- 
tians, to do with them ? He wanted only to live, 
to serve God, to confide in Christ, and teach any 
pious souls, who might desire it, the way of life, 
and this in connection with the church of his 
fathers, of whose infallibility even then, he had 
no doubt. In vain had learning and genius, in 
vain had diplomacy and theology attempted 
to reform the Papacy. It had wealth, talent, 
numbers, organization, influence, all at its com- 
mand. It had burned John Huss, and it could 
easily burn Luther. The Emperor Charles 
V., was just as likely to yield to the power 
of Rome, as Sigismund was when he delivered 
up the Bohemian reformer. But Christ was 
in the movement, as a spirit of wisdom and 
power, transcending all calculations, overcoming 
all obstacles, and bringing thousands of willing 
hearts to the foot of the cross. It was through 
Christ, and Christ alone, endowing him with a 
matchless energy on behalf of the truth and the 
souls of men, that the poor feeble monk became 
the reformer of Christendom. 



THE REFORMATION. 4-17 

All say, even the Papists say, that Luther had 
power. " I cannot bear," said one of his oppo- 
nents, " those deep-set eyes." " He is possessed 
of the devil," said others, " and nothing stands 
before him." What was that power? Was it sin- 
cerity, simplicity, vigor of intellect, learning, cour- 
age, rough eloquence, resolution, perseverance ? 
These, doubtless, are elements of power and 
means of success, within certain limits. But John 
Wickliff, John Huss, Jerome of Prague, Peter 
Waldo, Arnold of Brescia, all had these ele- 
ments of character; but they failed as reformers. 
Nay, some of the opponents of Luther, though 
wrong, utterly wrong, had these qualities, in 
more or less measure. Luther, however, had a 
power beyond them all. What was it ? We 
unhesitatingly reply, The power of God, through 
Jesus Christ, in large and abundant measure. 
God, indeed, uses fit vehicles. He puts great 
grace into great souls. Thus it was with Lu- 
ther. Christ was in him as a fit vehicle of his 
divine might. 

Hence Luther had no special theological dog- 
mas or quiddities to plead. If some of these 
were embodied in the creed of the Reformation, 
they were never used by Luther, in his grand 
contest with the Papacy, or in preaching the 
word for the comfort and guidance of " weary 
souls." He believed, and he taught, with a 



448 CHRIST X3f niSTORY. 

depth of conviction, and a force of eloquence, 
unequalled since the days of Paul, the doctrine 
of justification by faith ; for this was the doctrine 
of grace, the doctrine of life, the only hope of 
the sinner, the only hope of the world. No, no ; 
he who had rejected the doctrine of indulgences, 
and consequently of all commerce and barter in 
religion, could not introduce it into Christ's free 
gospel. Not by purchase, not by works, but by 
grace, free and boundless as the nature of the 
God from whom it springs, can the sinner be 
emancipated. He must believe, he must trust, 
he must love, in order to obey. He is not a 
slave ; he is a child, an erring child indeed, but a 
child to be forgiven, to be taken to the bosom 
of God, and thus to be redeemed and disin- 
thralled forever. " Justified freely by his grace, 
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." 
Faith in Christ, after terrible struggles, had 
emancipated his own spirit, and filled him with 
the life of God, and Luther wanted the whole 
world to enjoy the mighty blessing. But spe- 
cial dogmas of predestination, election, general 
and particular atonement, &c, did not trouble 
him. In themselves, too, he cared little for ex- 
ternal forms and usages. He observed them as 
decorous, but would neither abolish nor indorse 
them. He might have remained a Catholic for 
all this. Some one wanted a cassock to preach 



THE REFORMATION. 449 

in, to which more scrupulous persons objected. 
" Let him have three cassocks, if he wishes 
them ! " cried Luther. Perhaps he was not suf- 
ficiently enlightened about some things. Indeed, 
he left many evils unreformed. He had some 
false ideas and superstitions of his own. He 
was not a perfect man. But he loved Christ. 
He loved the truth. He loved the souls of men. 
In a word, Christ was in him, as a great, strong, 
loving, self-sacrificing, Christian heart. Hence 
he was willing to die for Christ, to suffer for the 
truth, to yield his life for the church. " I do not 
refuse to die, 7 ' said he over and over again, " if 
it be God's will." " Take my life," said he to 
the pope, "but I must stand by the truth." 
"What is about to happen," said he in a time 
of danger, " I know not, nor do I care to know, 
assured as I am that He who sits on the throne 
of heaven, has from all eternity foreseen the be- 
ginning, the progress, and the end of this affair. 
Let the blow fall where it may, I am without 
fear. Not so much as a leaf falls without the 
will of our Father. How much rather will he 
care for us ! It is a light thing to die for the 
Word, since the Word, which was made flesh, 
hath himself died. If we die with him, we shall 
live with him ; and passing through that which 
he hath passed through before us, we shall be 
where he is, and dwell with him forever." 
38* 



450 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

The Reformation had transpired in Luther him- 
self before it transpired in Germany. A supersti- 
tious Catholic, bending beneath the burden of a 
false and degrading faith, fearing " Christ himself 
as a tyrant," ignorant of God's method of justifica- 
tion, macerating his body by penances, and his 
soul by sorrows, he was led, insensibly, to the 
word of God, and thence to the cross of Christ. 
Gradually he discovered the "riches of grace," 
and found peace in believing. Still he clung to 
the Papacy, to masses and pilgrimages, purgatories 
and penances. From all these, however, he was 
gradually emancipated by the word, the provi- 
dence, and the Spirit of God. Then he exulted 
in the God of his salvation, and not all the 
powers of pope or devil could move him from his 
integrity. He became a Protestant ; say rather a 
Christian, simple, sincere, devout, noble-hearted, 
and self-sacrificing. Then " to live was Christ, and 
to die gain." " Though as a monk," says he, " I 
was holy and irreproachable, my conscience was 
still filled with trouble and torment. I could not 
endure the expression — the righteous justice of 
God. I did not love that just and holy Being 
who punishes sinners. I felt a secret anger against 
him ; I hated him, because, not satisfied with 
terrifying by his law, and by the miseries of life, 
poor creatures already ruined by original sin, he 
aggravated our sufferings by the gospel. But 



THE REFORMATION. 451 

when by the Spirit of God I understood these 
words — when I learned how the justification of 
the sinner proceeds from God's mere mercy by 
the way of faith — then I felt myself born again, 
as a new man, and I entered by an open door 
into the very paradise of God. From that hour 
I saw the precious and Holy Scriptures with new 
eyes. I went through the whole Bible. I col- 
lected a multitude of passages which taught me 
what the work of God was. And as I had before 
heartily hated that expression, ' the righteousness 
of God,' I began, from that time, to value and 
love it, as the sweetest and most consolatory 
truth. Truly this text of St. Paul was to me as 
the very ; gate of heaven. 5 " 

Hence he taught this great truth, in all his 
preaching and writings ; and because he was for- 
bidden to teach it, on pain of Papal condemna- 
tion, he opposed the Papacy by teaching and 
preaching it the more. This was his great weapon 
against all the errors and corruptions of Rome. 
" I see," said he, at a critical moment, " that the 
devil, by means of his teachers and doctors, is in- 
cessantly attacking this fundamental article, and 
that he cannot rest or cease from this object. 
Well then, I, Doctor Martin Luther, an unworthy 
evangelist of our Lord Jesus Christ, do confess 
this article, that faith alone, without works, justi- 
fies in the sight of God; and I declare, that in 



452 CHRIST TN HISTORY. 

spite of the Emperor of the Turks, the Emperoi 
of the Tartars, the Emperor of the Persians, the 
Pope, "all the cardinals, bishops, priests, monks, 
nuns, kings, princes, nobles, all the world, and all 
the devils, it shall stand unshaken forever! that 
if they will persist in opposing this truth, they 
will draw upon their heads the flames of hell. 
This is the true and holy gospel, and the declara- 
tion of me, Doctor Luther, according to the light 
given to me by the Holy Spirit. . . . There 
is no one who has died for our sins but Jesus 
Christ, the Son of God. I repeat it once more : 
let all the evil spirits of earth and hell foam and 
rage as they will, this is nevertheless true. And 
if Christ alone takes away sin, we cannot do so 
by all our works. But good works follow redemp- 
tion, as surely as fruit appears upon a living 
tree. This is our doctrine; this the Holy Spirit 
teacheth, together with all holy Christian people. 
We hold it in God's name. Amen ! " 

And thus he proclaimed it to the world, pro- 
claimed it to his dying day ; and the reforma- 
tion in Luther's heart reproduced itself, by the 
power of Christ, in Germany, Switzerland, Hol- 
land, England, and Scotland. The word of God 
had free course — it ran and was glorified. 

Some, unfriendly to the Reformation, have 
denied the presence of Christ in the spirit and 
work of Luther, because of his roughness and 



THE REFORMATION. 453 

violence. Doubtless he was an imperfect, nay, 
sinful man, and he himself was the first to con- 
fess it ; but this is not to be charged to Christ or 
the Reformation. God commits the treasure of 
his grace to earthen vessels. Our adorable Re- 
deemer condescends to dwell in sinful hearts. 
Doubtless Luther, though at heart a gentle, lov- 
ing man, was often violent and impetuous ; but 
such also is the lightning's flash, which cleaves 
the atmosphere, and goes crashing through the 
resounding heavens. A Luther, or a John Bap- 
tist, or a John Knox, is no puling sentimentalist. 
At times the word of God is as fire shut up in 
his bones. He is indignant at oppression and 
wrong. He longs to strike the hoary lust from 
its throne. His words, rough, vehement, jagged, 
tumultuous, are " half battles." They go burn- 
ing and crashing amid the idols of superstition. 
He mast be honest, he must be true, and some- 
times he must be vehement, fearfully vehement. 
And as he is only a man, sometimes he may be 
imprudent, and both say and do things which 
subsequently he regrets. But in the main he is 
honest, terribly, gloriously honest. Let him then 
speak out, let him lay stunning blows on the 
head of despotic error and fiendish lust. Let 
him trample in the dust the mean arguments and 
meaner wiles of his opponents. Are they not 
the enemies of God and man; and has not the 



454 CIITUST IN TIISTOKY. 

Almighty made him the battle axe to grind them 
to powder ? Men stood aghast when Luther 
burned the pope's bull; but to us it is a magnifi- 
cent sight. With what generous and beautiful 
disdain he tears it to atoms, and commits it to the 
flames as a weak and worthless thing, which it 
behoves all honest men to despise ! " Too much 
imprudence displeases men," replies Luther to 
Spalatin, who had counselled him to sobriety, 
" but too much prudence is displeasing to God. 
It is impossible to make a stand for the gospel 
without creating some disturbance and offence. 
The word of God is a sword, waging war, over- 
throwing and destroying ; it is a casting down, 
a disturbance, and comes, as the prophet Amos 
says, as a bear in the way, as a lion in the forest. 
I want nothing from them. I ask nothing. There 
is One above who seeks and requires. Whether 
his requirements be disregarded or obeyed affects 
not me." " No," he continues, " I dare not 
withdraw from the contest. I commit every thing 
to God, and give up my bark to winds and waves. 
The battle is the Lord's. Why will you fancy 
that it is by peace that Christ will advance his 
cause? Has not he himself, have not all the 
martyrs, poured forth their blood in the conflict ? " 
Yet Luther clearly distinguishes between what 
is his own and what is the Lord's. The former 
he was ever willing to yield, the latter never. 



THE REFORMATION. 455 

He readily acknowledges his faults ; he acknowl- 
edges this very imprudence and impetuosity. In 
his letter to Pope Leo X., and in his address be- 
fore the Diet of Worms, he is willing to retract 
all this, any thing, in fact, which is his own ; only 
he takes his stand on the word of God, and con- 
tends for the truth. Reform the church, preach 
the gospel, or let the gospel be preached, and he 
is satisfied. " I have attacked," says he, address- 
ing the pope, "it is true, some anti- Christian 
doctrines, and I have inflicted some deep wounds 
on my adversaries on account of their impiety. 
I cannot regret this, for I have in this Christ for 
an example. Of what use is salt, if it hath lost 
its savor, or the sword blade, if it doth not cut ? 
Cursed is he who doth the Lord's work coldly. 

most excellent Leo, far from conceiving any evil 
design against you, I wish you the most precious 
blessings for all eternity. One thing only have 

1 done. I have defended the word of truth. I 
am ready to give way to every one in every thing ; 
but as it regards that word, I will not, I cannot 
abandon it." 

The facts and principles to which we have 
referred, as lying at the basis of this great revolu- 
tion, are strikingly illustrated in Luther's appear- 
ance before the Diet of Worms, at which point 
the Reformation seemed to culminate. It is 
one of the sublimest passages in history, and 



45 6 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

deserves the study of all who would understand 
the spirit of Luther and the Reformation. 

Every one familiar with history knows the 
nature and object of that august assembly or 
Diet, which, under Charles V., of Germany, was 
held at Worms, and before which Luther was 
cited to appear and retract his heresies. He had 
received a safe conduct from the emperor, but 
his friends feared that it would not protect him, 
and that his life would be endangered. Already 
condemned by the pope, it was only necessary 
for the secular authorities to execute the sen- 
tence. Every where his books w^ere burned by 
order of the Papal court, and although his friends 
were numerous and powerful, his enemies were 
yet more numerous and powerful. He was sick 
and feeble, but he felt that he must appear at 
Worms, and testify to the truth. His brethren 
earnestly dissuaded him ; but he must go. A 
few friends accompanied him on his journey. At 
Weimar he heard of the condemnation and 
burning of his books. The herald asked him if he 
would proceed. " Yes," replied Luther, " though 
I should be put under interdict in every town, 
I will go on. I rely on the emperor's safe con- 
duct." 

In some of the towns on the way, particularly 
at Erfurt, he was welcomed with joy. Here 
he preached, with vigor and comfort, on the great 



THE REFORMATION. 457 

doctrine of salvation through Christ. He never 
once alluded to the object of his journey; his 
whole mind and heart were engaged on the glo- 
rious theme. At Eisenach he was taken sud- 
denly ill. They bled him, and administered 
cordials, and on the following morning he re- 
sumed his journey. 

Crowds of the common people followed him, 
in all the towns through which he passed. " Ah," 
said some, " there are plenty of cardinals and 
bishops at Worms. You will be burned alive, 
and your body reduced to ashes, as they did 
with John Huss." Luther replied deliberately, 
" Though they should kindle a fire whose flame 
should reach from Worms to Wittemberg, and 
rise up to heaven, I would go through it in the 
name of the Lord, and stand before them. I 
would enter the jaws of Behemoth, break his 
teeth, and confess the Lord Jesus Christ." 

One day, as he was entering an inn, one of the 
crowd, who pressed around him, made his way 
to him and said, " Are you the man who has 
taken in hand to reform the Papacy ? How can 
you expect to succeed ? " " Yes," answered 
Luther, " I am the man. I place my dependence 
upon Almighty God, whose word and command- 
ment is before me." The officer, deeply affected, 
gazed on him affectionately, and said, " Dear 
friend, there is much in what you say ; I am a 
39 



458 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

servant of Charley, but your Master is greater 
than mine. He will keep and protect you." 

On Sunday, the 14th of April, Luther arrived 
in Frankfort. The pope's emissaries were 
amazed and alarmed. They had no idea that he 
would obey the summons. They expected to 
condemn him unheard. It was their intent, 
therefore, to stop his progress ; and they did every 
thing to effect their purpose. His own friends 
were undecided. But the reformer never once 
hesitated. He was going in the strength of God, 
and, whatever might be the issue, he must honor 
Christ before kings and emperors. It was inti- 
mated to him that the emperor's confessor, Gla- 
pio, who had come on purpose to prevent, or, at 
least, to retard his arrival, wished to see him. 
" I shall go on," said he, " and if the emperor's 
confessor has any thing to say to me, he will 
find me at Worms." 

Spalatin, his friend and counsellor, and the 
elector's chaplain, on whom Luther much de- 
pended for protection and aid, in case of diffi- 
culty, was himself filled with apprehension. The 
elector was yet undecided, and might abandon 
Luther to his enemies. He heard from all quar- 
ters that the safe conduct would be violated. 
Alarmed, he despatched a servant to meet Luther 
a little way beyond the city, with this message : 
" Abstain from entering Worms." Luther fixed 



THE REFORMATION. 459 

his eyes sternly on the messenger : " Go tell your 
master]* said he, " that though there should be as 
many devils at Worms as there are tiles on its 
roofs, I would enter it" Thus rose the high spirit 
of Luther, as he drew near the scene of danger 
and trial. He felt himself " strong in the Lord, 
and in the power of his might." The messenger 
delivered the astounding message. " I was then 
intrepid," said Luther, a few days before his 
death; "I feared nothing. God can give this 
boldness to man. I know not whether now I 
should have as much liberty and joy." 

Some young noblemen and others rode out of 
the city to meet Luther, and escorted him within 
the walls. The place was filled with excitement. 
Nothing was thought of, nothing talked of, but 
the arrival of the intrepid monk. At a late hour, 
he rested in his hotel, the gates were shut, and 
all was still. Whether he should ever go beyond 
these guarded walls, God only knew. Luther 
himself enjoyed perfect peace. He was filled 
with a holy enthusiasm. It seemed as if Christ 
w r as standing by him all the time. He calmly 
awaited his citation before the Diet on the fol- 
lowing day. In the morning, however, his 
strength suddenly failed him. His mind was 
agitated by a profound and fearful struggle. 
He seemed to drink of the cup of Christ. He 
threw himself with his face upon the earth, and 



460 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

uttered, in broken cries and sobs, expressions 
which God alone can appreciate, expressions 
never to be interpreted literally, and which the 
deep and terrible anguish of the spirit alone can 
justify. In these, however, we discover the 
complete sincerity and self-abnegation of the 
man, and the simple, childlike faith he was wont 
to exercise in God. They are the cry of a wound- 
ed spirit, dreading to be severed from God in the 
hour of its deepest trial. " O God, Almighty 
God everlasting ! how dreadful is the world ! be- 
hold how its mouth opens to swallow me up, 
and how small is my faith in thee! O, the 
weakness of the flesh, and the power of Satan ! 
If I am to depend upon any strength of this 
world, all is over. . . . The knell is struck 
. . . Sentence is gone forth. . . . O God ! 

God! O thou my God! help me against all 
the wisdom of this world. Do this, I beseech 
thee ; thou shouldst do this, ... by thine 
own mighty power. . . * The work is not 
mine, but thine. I have no business here. . . . 

1 have nothing to contend for with these great 
men of the world ! I would gladly pass my days 
in happiness and peace. But the cause is thine, 
. . . and it is righteous and everlasting ! O 
Lord, help me! O faithful and unchangeable 
God ! I lean not upon man. It were vain 
Whatever is of man is tottering, whatever pro- 



THE REFORMATION. 461 

ceeds from him must fail. My God! my God 
dost thou not hear ? My God ! art thou no 
longer living? Nay, thou canst not die! Thou 
dost but hide thyself. Thou hast chosen me 
for this work. I know it! Therefore, O God, 
accomplish thine own will! Forsake me not, 
for the sake of thy well-beloved Son Jesus Christ, 
my defence, my buckler, and my stronghold." 

After a moment of silent struggle, he con- 
tinues : " Lord, where art thou ? My God, 
where art thou? Come, I beseech thee, I am 
ready. . . . Behold me prepared to lay down my 
life for the truth, . . . suffering like a lamb. For 
thy cause is holy. It is thine own ! . . . I will 
not let thee go! no, nor yet for all eternity! And 
though the world should be thronged with devils, 
and this body, which is the work of thy hands, 
should be cast forth, trodden under foot, cut in 
pieces, . . . consumed to ashes, . . . my soul is 
thine ! Yes, I have thine own word to assure 
me of it. My soul belongs to thee, and wih 
abide with thee forever ! Amen ! O God, send 
help ! . . . Amen ! " 

Here is revealed the secret of Luther's pow- 
er, and here the secret of the Reformation. If 
Christ was not in it, Christ was never in the gar- 
den, or on the cross. 

Four o'clock arrived. All things were ready 
Luther set out, God had heard his prayer 
39* 



162 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

Through a dense crowd he reached the town 
hall ; a passage was cleared by the soldiers. 
The place was crowded; above, below, windows, 
staircases, all were filled. As he drew near the 
door which was to admit him into the presence of 
his judges, George Freundsberg, a valiant knight, 
seeing Luther pass, touched him on the shoulder, 
and shaking his head, grown gray amid the din 
of battle, said kindly, " My poor monk, my poor 
monk, thou hast a march and a struggle to go 
through such as neither I nor many other cap- 
tains have seen the like in our most bloody bat- 
tles. But if thy cause be just, and thou art sure 
of it, go forward in God's name, and fear noth- 
ing! He will not forsake thee." 

And now Luther stood in the presence of 
Charles V., " whose kingdom extended across 
two hemispheres, associated with electors, 
dukes, margraves, archbishops, bishops, and 
prelates, ambassadors from various countries, 
including France and England, deputies of free 
cities, and a great multitude of counts and 
barons, the pope's nuncio, and other dignitaries. 

His very appearance there, so dreaded by the 
Papal court, was a victory. Some princes were 
near him, one of whom, affected by his dignified 
appearance, whispered, " Fear not them who are 
able to kill the body, but cannot destroy the 
soul." Another said, "When you are brought 



THE REFORMATION. 463 

before kings, it shall be given you by the Spirit 
of your Father what you shall say." 

Luther was addressed, at the command of the 
emperor, by the imperial counsellor Eck, who 
said that he had been called before the imperial 
Diet to answer these two questions : " First, 
whether you acknowledge these books (a large 
pile of which lay on the table) to be yours, or 
not ; secondly, whether you will retract them or 
not, or whether you will adhere to them still." 

Before Luther replied, Schurf, his counsellor, 
said, " Let the titles of the books be read." 
Then the official read over the titles, among 
which were Exposition of certain Psalms, Trea- 
tise on Good Works, Explanation of the Lord's 
Prayer, and others, mostly of a practical char- 
acter. 

Luther acknowledged that the books were his. 
But " touching the next point," he added, with 
noble simplicity and prudence, " whether I will 
maintain these or retract them, seeing it is a 
question of faith, and of one's salvation, and of 
the word of God, which is the greatest treasure 
in heaven and earth, and deserving at all times 
our highest reverence, it would be rash and 
perilous for me to speak inconsiderately, and 
affirm, without reflection, either more or less 
than is consistent with truth ; for in either case 
I should fall under the sentence of Christ, ' He 



4f>{ CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

that denieth me before men, him will I deny be- 
fore my Father which is in heaven.' Therefore 
I beg of your imperial majesty time for reflec- 
tion, that I may be able to reply to the question 
proposed without prejudice to the word of God 
or to my own salvation." 

Though it was intimated that he did not deserve 
the clemency, it was granted by the emperor. 

The gravity of the question at issue, and this 
solemn suspense, only heightened the interest of 
the occasion. 

What were Luther's feelings at this time we 
learn from one of his letters. After informing 
his friend what had transpired, and that he had 
asked time for deliberation, he adds, " This is all 
the time I asked, and all that they would give. 
But, Christ being gracious to me, I will not re- 
tract one iota." 

His friends crowded around him with words 
of cheer ; and he received from the warrior-poet 
and reformer, Ulricvon Hutten, the following in- 
spiring letter, addressed to his " holy friend, the in- 
vincible theologian and evangelist : " " Fight cour- 
ageously for Christ, and yield not to wrong, but go 
forth confidently to meet it. Endure as a good 
soldier of Jesus, and suffer that the gift which 
is in you may be called out, and be assured that 
He on whom you have believed can preserve 
what you have committed to him till that day. 



THE REFORMATION. 465 

I also will take strong hold of the work ; but 
there is this difference in our undertakings, that 
mine is human, while you, far more perfect, 
cleave wholly to divine things." Von Hutted had 
at other times proffered Luther the aid of "car- 
nal weapons," but Luther uniformly declined 
all such help. His reliance was on the arm of 
God. 

On the succeeding day, in the afternoon, Luther 
was again summoned to the Diet, when, after 
waiting some time, the lamps being lighted, and 
the immense crowd eager and expectant, the 
official called upon him to answer to the ques- 
tion previously laid before him. Luther replied 
with modesty and calmness, but with the utmost 
clearness and decision. He classified his books, 
saying that in some he had treated of works of 
faith and piety with such Christian plainness 
and simplicity, that even his enemies did not 
deny their harmlessness, utility, and worth. To 
retract these would be to condemn the truth 
confessed by all. The second class of his works 
were directed against the Papacy and the Pa- 
pists, as corrupting and injuring all Christendom 
with their teaching and example. He urged 
that by the laws and teachings of the Papacy, 
souls are enslaved and injured, and that goods 
and possessions, especially in Germany, are de- 
voured by their incredible tyranny. They them- 



466 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

selves have ordained by their own decrees, that 
the laws and doctrines of the pope, which are 
contrary to the gospel and the teachings of the 
fathers, be regarded as erroneous. Were he to 
revoke this class of books, he would but increase 
the strength of tyranny, and leave open not 
merely a window, but a door and a gate, to 
wickedness, wider than ever. The third class of 
his books were personal, and written against 
those who had opposed reform, and vindicated 
the tyranny of Rome. Against these, he had, 
he acknowledged, been more violent than was 
becoming. But even these books he could not 
retract, because by this means he would give his 
influence to Roman tyranny, which would crush 
the people's rights more mercilessly than ever. 

But as he was a man, and not God, he would 
not do for his books otherwise than Christ had 
done for his doctrines, who, when questioned 
respecting them by Annas, ^nd smitten on the 
cheek by the servant, said, " If I have spoken 
wrong, then show it to be wrong." On which 
ground he respectfully urged them to cause plain 
proof to be brought against them from the words 
of Christ and his holy apostles, and he would 
be the first to cast them into the fire. 

When his address was ended, though exhausted 
by the effort and the extreme heat, he was re- 
quested to repeat it in Latin, for *he b^nenf of 



THE REFORMATION. 467 

those who did not understand German. After a 
slight hesitation, he complied with the request, 
in a calm, clear, deliberate voice. 

He was accused by the imperial orator of evad- 
ing the question, and urged to give a plain, cate- 
gorical answer, whether he would retract or not. 
He replied, " Since your imperial majesty and 
lordships desire a direct answer, I will give one 
which has neither horns nor teeth ; and it is this : 
Unless I shall be convinced by the testimony of 
Scripture, or by clear and plain argument, (for I 
do not believe either in the pope or in the coun- 
cils alone, because it is plain and evident they 
have often erred and contradicted each other,) I 
am held by those passages which I have cited, 
and am bound by my conscience and the word 
of God, and therefore I may not, I cannot re- 
tract, inasmuch as it is neither safe nor right 
to violate my conscience. Here I standi I can- 
not do othenvise^ so help me God. Amen ! " 

Thus nobly and courageously Luther clung to 
the word of God. If that failed, he failed — if 
that stood, he stood. u Hier stehe ich — Ich kan 
nicht anders ! Gott helfe mir. Amen ! " 

After much discussion, Luther was finally con- 
demned by the emperor ; but as he had a safe 
conduct, which even Charles V. did not dare to 
violate, he was permitted to go unmolested. 
Hundreds were ready to defend him ; but he 



468 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

needed no defence, but the consciousness of right 
and the protection of the Almighty. Much effort 
had been made, before the final sentence, to in- 
duce him to retract. But he stood firm as a rock ; 
" he had given his answer, he could not retract." 
He was willing even to forego his safe conduct, 
and "resign his person and life to the emperor's 
disposal ; but as to the word of God — never!" 

In leaving Worms, Luther's heart was filled 
with unutterable peace and joy. " Satan him- 
self," said he, " kept the pope's citadel ; but Christ 
has made a wide breach in it, and the devil has 
been compelled to confess that Christ is mightier 
than he." 

The Diet of Worms decided the fate of the 
Reformation. Thenceforward the Elector of 
Saxony, and many others, gave themselves to it, 
heart and soul. The echo of that occasion re- 
sounded far and near, in Germany, France, and 
Switzerland, and even as far as England and 
Scotland. The word of God was more precious 
than ever. Thousands, in the spirit of Luther, 
exclaimed, "Here we stand — we cannot do 
otherwise. God help us. Amen ! " 

On his arrival at Frankfort, Luther, rejoicing 
in God, wrote the following familiar, energetic 
letter to his dear friend Lucas Cranach, the paint- 
er, of Wittemberg — " My service to you, dear 
Master Lucas. I expected his majesty would 



THE REFORMATION. 469 

assemble fifty learned doctors to convict the 
monk outright. But not at all. Are these books 
of your writing ? Yes. Will you retract them ? 
No ! Well, begone ! There 's the whole his- 
tory. Deluded Germans, how childishly we 
act! — how we are duped and defrauded by 
Rome ! Let the Jews sing their yo ! yo ! yo ! 
But a passover is coming for us also, and then 
we will sing Hallelujah ! We must keep silence, 
and endure for a short time. 4 A little while and 
ye shall not see me, and again a little while and 
ye shall see me,' said Jesus Christ. I trust I may 
say the same. Farewell. I commend you all 
to the Eternal. May he preserve in Christ your 
understanding and your faith from the attacks 
of the wolves and the dragons of Rome. Amen." 
Luther was shut up in the Castle of Wartburg, 
in the depths of the old Thuringian forest, and 
many thought him dead ; but the word of God 
was not bound. Christ crucified, the hope of the 
soul, was every where proclaimed and believed. 
The movement spread on all the wings of the 
wind. Great numbers deserted the Papacy, and 
turned to the Lord. Luther reappeared, as faith- 
ful as ever, and maintained the long struggle. He 
suffered much, and was willing to die. Indeed, 
he was weary of the world, so full of contention, 
oppression, and sin. But his trust was in God 
his Redeemer. He departed in peace at Eisleben, 
40 



470 CHRIST IN HISTORV. 

the place of his birth. Three times quickly he 
repeated the words, " Father, into thy hands I 
commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, thou 
faithful God." Then he was quiet. The attend- 
ants shook him, rubbed him, and spoke to him ; 
but he closed his eyes, and made no reply. Jonas 
and Coelius then spoke to him very loud, and 
said, " Venerable father, do you die trusting 
in Christ, and in the doctrine which you have 
preached ? " and he answered distinctly, " Yes," 
and turning upon his right side, slept a short 
period, when, with folded hands, with one gentle 
breath and sigh, he passed away.* 

There were many obstacles to the progress of 
the Reformation ; some confusion, some disorders 
were the result ; but God raised up many great 
and good men, in various places, to preach the 
gospel of Christ, and the work of renovation ad- 
vanced. Christ was in it as a power of hope 



* We have dwelt upon the Reformation chiefly as it developed 
itself in the centre of continental Europe. We might trace, were 
it necessary, the action of the same principles in England and Scot- 
land. In these countries the Reformation had an independent origin, 
though vastly aided by the movement in Germany. For informa- 
tion upon the history of the Reformation in England and Scotland, 
see Burnet's History of the Reformation, Blunt's History of the 
English Reformation, D'Aubigne's fifth volume of his History of 
the Reformation, Neale's History of the Puritans, McCries's Life 
of John Knox, Hetherington's History of the Church of Scotland. 
For an admirable exposition of the spirt and aim of Knox see the 
Westminster Review for July, 1853. 



THE REFORMATION. 471 

and transformation to many souls and many lands. 
It was as if the frosts of a long winter had dis- 
solved, and quickening spring was breathing 
through the forests of Germany, and the moun- 
tains of Switzerland, and far oft* amid the plains 
of England, and the hills of Scotland. The 
waters of life, long pent up among frozen rocks, 
let loose by the breath of God, were rolling and 
flashing under the deepening radiance. The 
wilderness and the solitary place were glad, the 
desert rejoiced and blossomed as the rose. 

In all violent transitions, however, much evil 
is developed along with the good. Human pas- 
sions and interests ever mingle with divine insti- 
tutions. Individuals, as well as churches and 
communities, are only partially " sanctified." 
Some are grievously defective, others are selfish 
and tumultuous. Besides, action and reaction 
ever correspond to each other; if the pendulum 
is held far in one direction, it will swing the far- 
ther in the other. Some tumult and irregularity 
mingle in the grandest revolutions. 

All this we see in the Reformation of the six- 
teenth century ; yet it was the revival of primitive 
Christianity. It was a power of life and blessing 
to the nations, and to myriads of individual souls, 
who "justified by faith," had, in life and in death, 
" peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
The word if God was emancipated. Noble re- 



472 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

formed churches were established. Thence sprang 
freedom and justice, activity and advancement. 
Thence came Bacon, Newton, and Howard, John 
Milton and Thomas Chalmers, with that high, 
progressive civilization, yet destined to cover the 
earth.* 

* It might be interesting here to show how the Reformation 
reacted powerfully on the Papal church, and, consequently, on all 
Roman Catholic countries. Its spirit is diffused beyond Protestant 
bounds. It is at work among all civilized nations. It is the leaven 
which must leaven the whole mass. But the facts are obvious ; and 
we leave the matter to the reflection of intelligent men. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

CHRIST IN MODERN SOCIETY. 

In all ages, among the modern as well as 
among the ancient nations, we find the influence 
of two great elements, or factors — the finite and 
the infinite, the human and the divine. In the 
finite and human is the tendency to imperfection, 
consequently to division, disorder, and death. In 
the infinite is the tendency to perfection, conse- 
quently to unify, order, and life. And as the 
finite and the infinite, in their action, are blended 
in the constitution and course of things, we find 
the manifestations of the latter, in the moral 
sphere, greatly modified by circumstances. Hence 
the striking variations and contrasts in history, 
the singular ebb and flow of society, its convul- 
sions and revulsions, its retrogression and pro- 
gression. In some ages, and among some 
nations, we meet an apparent predominance of 
evil, yet ever with a struggle and tendency to 
good. God does not leave himself without a wit- 
ness, either in nature or in society. Every where 
he works after the counsel of his own will. The 
process is in 'isible and mysterious, and often to 
40 * ( 473 > 



474 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

our view, sadly checked and disarranged. Still 
it advances, and, in due time, discovers its resist- 
less force. Individuals arise who recognize " the 
divine," and endeavor to advance society in the 
direction of God and perfection. Organs of the 
infinite, certain institutions, and certain races, 
are found better adapted than others for the re- 
ception and communication of the truth. Oppo- 
sition and difficulty exist among all, because 
imperfection and sin exist in all. But the 
divine element struggles onward and upward. 
Its tendency is ever to unity and perfection. In 
its higher development, as in Christianity, which 
is the infinite factor organized and embodied in 
human forms, we see this great fact strikingly 
revealed. Order and perfection are its law, but 
opposing influences come into collision with it; 
and hence it is sometimes the cause, or rather 
occasion, of disturbance and disorder. But its 
movement is always in the right direction. Like 
the pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night, 
before the Jewish army, it leads society in the 
wilderness. Obstacles vanish, or fall into its 
train, while the race is moved onward to its 
goal. 

Ages, however, are needed for the mighty evo- 
lution. Providence is slow, but sure. It moves 
through time, as if time were eternity. Indeed, 
time is as nothing to infinite power. " One day is 



MODERN SOCIETY. 475 

with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thou- 
sand years as one day." But that which endures 
conquers at last. Therefore the kingdom will 
come, and the whole earth be subdued to God. 
" The movements of Providence," says Guizot, 
looking at the successive developments of human 
civilization, u are not restricted to narrow bounds ; 
it is not anxious to deduce to-day the conse- 
quence of the premises it laid down yesterday- 
It may defer this for ages, till the fulness of the 
time shall come. Its logic will not be less con- 
clusive for reasoning slowly. Providence moves 
through time, as the gods of Homer through 
space ; it makes a step, and ages have rolled 
away! How long a time, how many circum- 
stances, intervened before the regeneration of the 
moral powers of man, by Christianity, exercised 
its great, its legitimate influence upon his social 
condition ! Yet who can doubt or mistake its 
power ? " * Thus the Reformation of the sixteenth 
century has come and gone ; and now all things 
are preparing for a second and grander reforma- 
tion. Obstacles oppose it ; yet who doubts that 
it will come ? Who doubts that the whole world 
shall yet see the glory of God ? 

We are not to be surprised, then, if in Christi- 
anity, and in the Christian form of civilization, 

* History of Civilization, vol. i. p. 28. 



476 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

we find the constant, and even violent struggle 
of opposing powers. But Christianity, like the 
infinite factor, is never defeated, above all, never 
extinguished. Cast down, and, to all appear- 
ance, fit only for the grave, it rises again, renews 
its energies, augments its resources, and goes 
forth among men conquering and to conquer. It 
thus vindicates its title to the character of a su- 
pernatural power. It works together with God; 
its tendency is to universal dominion. 

Hence Christianity will generally be found as- 
sociated with the strongest races ; rather, perhaps, 
it will assist in forming'the strongest races. How 
rapidly it allied itself with the Romans, the 
strongest race on the globe ! but finding Rome, 
with all its resources, debauched by vice, and 
consequently imbecile at heart, it left it for the 
Germanic and Anglo-Saxon tribes. It seized 
upon those rude, muscular races, and brought 
them into unity and order. It gave them laws 
and civilization. At first, it seemed to oppress 
them, but it finally lifted them up, giving them 
freedom and power. And now they are the 
central races, the strongest and most influential 
of all. 

The process, to our view, has been difficult and 
slow, with many interruptions and convulsive 
throes; but its movement has now become more 
clear and decisive. The Reformation was one step 



MODERN SOCIETY. 477 

i n advance, much impeded we grant, and even now 
only partially developed. The result however is 
grand and beautiful, and so obvious, that he who 
runs may read it. That result is nothing less 
than the possession by Christianity, as a central 
or supernatural power, of the most valuable por- 
tions of the globe, and the leading forces of 
modern civilization. In some of the nations 
professedly Christian, Christianity is developed 
with greater purity and vigor than in others ; 
but in all she occupies a position of influence 
and command. Individuals, nay, whole masses, 
may reject her claims, while others misapprehend 
and misapply her principles ; but she keeps her 
place notwithstanding, and by invisible influences 
guides and controls even her enemies. Often 
checked and abused, she only bides her time to 
bring all into unity and submission. Those who 
oppose her sometimes blindly fulfil her designs. 
Yet Christianity is the very reverse both of scep- 
ticism and despotism. She will yet convert the 
one, and extinguish the other. With this view, 
and as by a natural instinct, she allies herself to 
science and art, to literature and commerce. She 
works even through revolutions. They prepare 
the way of the Lord ; they make straight in the 
desert (of despotism) a highway for our God. 
All improvements in mechanics, and the means 
of locomotion through the world, aid her prog- 



478 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

ress. She goes forth over all seas and lands, 
on tours of exploration, takes possession of fa- 
vorable positions all along the lines of business 
and travel, plants her colonies and schools here, 
there, every where, and thus prepares herself, one 
of these days, to occupy the whole. 

Thus, after the fall of the Roman empire, and 
the destruction of the ancient civilization, Chris- 
tianity took possession of Germany, France, and 
Scandinavia, then of England and Scotland, 
then of the United States of America, with 
Canada and Australia. And now, especially 
through Great Britain and the United States, 
she commands an approach to all quarters of 
the globe. Comparatively feeble in Russia and 
France, she yet holds these two nations in her 
grasp ; here, as in England and Germany, she 
may yet reform the church and the people. 
These nations can never become pagan or 
Mohammedan. If they advance in civilization, 
Christianity will advance also, or rather Christian- 
ity will advance in them as a power of civiliza- 
tion ; unless indeed, like Rome of old, through the 
force of despotism and vice, they should break to 
pieces, and give to Christianity, released from 
the thraldom of tyranny, a wider and more glo- 
rious field. Among all the Anglo-Saxon races, 
Christianity is strong, free, and progressive. 
Should these races advance as they have clone, 



MODERN SOCIETY. 479 

Christianity will advance with them to universal 
conquest. Much of this is the direct result of 
the Reformation of the sixteenth century, as the 
Reformation itself was the direct result of primi- 
tive Christianity. By the singular changes as- 
sociated with that event, or resulting from it, we 
find the purest and freest form of religion, at this 
moment, occupying the most commanding posi- 
tions in both hemispheres, and wielding the 
forces of the most vital, the most enterprising 
extant civilizations. From England, the United 
States, and portions of continental Europe, she is 
planting her institutions in all pagan countries, 
and acting powerfully upon the less advanced 
nations around her. 

She has thus, for the first time in the history 
of the world, become closely and permanently 
identified with the progressive races, and with 
all those powers in society upon which their 
advancement depends — freedom, activity, com- 
merce, science, and education ; and as these, by 
a necessary law, tend to unity and universality, 
so Christianity tends to unity and universality. 

But to make this clear, let us go back a little, 
and view the actual state of the world. It has 
obviously come into new positions and relations, 
as Christianity has come into new positions and 
relations. 

Three forms of religion, or of civilization, 



480 CHRIST IX HISTORY. 

divide the globe — the pagan, the Mohammedan, 
and the Christian. The pagan and the Moham- 
medan civilizations are confined chiefly to the 
Oriental world. They are found also in Africa, 
but in a comparatively feeble, abnormal condi- 
tion. It is in the ancient and hoary East we 
find the seat of their power. Here all things are 
either stationary or decaying. Except in the 
places invaded by the influences of Christian 
civilization, all India, on this side and on that 
side the Ganges, is old and decrepit. None of 
the pagan nations advance. They make no dis- 
coveries, plant no colonies, secure no conquests. 
They do not increase, but rather diminish, in 
numbers. When spreading among other nations, 
they seem to lose themselves like streams in 
the sandy desert. Their resources, physical and 
social, are gradually becoming exhausted. They 
fall before the stronger and advancing races. The 
religions of the heathen nations are antiquated 
and puerile, stricken with a fatal imbecility, and 
ready to vanish away. Budhism and Brahman- 
ism, which divide the whole of India beyond the 
the Ganges, already totter to their fall. Hindos- 
tan is in the hands of England, and China is 
convulsed with revolution, which, in that land, 
may extinguish idolatry. 

The Mohammedan form of civilization, once 
so wide and powerful, has been gradually re- 



MODERN SOCIETY. 481 

stricted and weakened. At one time ready to 
swallow and extinguish the whole Christian 
civilization, both of Asia and Europe, it is now 
in its turn ready to be absorbed or extinguished 
by the advancing forces of European civiliza- 
tion. It is true that it gives some signs of re- 
viving life, but it is only galvanic life. The in- 
fluence which has excited, perhaps inspired it a 
little, is European and Christian. The nations 
under its sway do not advance. Their religion 
has lost its ancient fire. It is feeble and effete. 
Turkey can "scarcely be called a power in the 
world, except by the support or sufferance of 
others. She has numbers, to be sure, and through 
the force of Christian ideas, exhibits a com- 
mendable liberality in some things ; but she has 
no vital unity, no coherent power. Her religion 
cannot reform itself — cannot, therefore, reform 
the people. It must gradually yield to the supe- 
rior forces around it. These forces constantly 
press upon it, nay, more, penetrate, as an ele- 
ment of dissolution, into its very heart. She has 
made advances, politicians affirm. She is even 
said to promote European tactics, railroads, and 
electric telegraphs. In other words, she is put- 
ting new wine into old bottles. Her venerable 
sages shake their heads ; her sacred muftis de- 
clare that her glory is departed. Turkey has no 
41 



482 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

living faith, no intensity of feeling, no capacity 
of real and permanent advance. 

The rest of the world, containing the richest 
and most powerful nations, are more or less un- 
der the influence of Christianity and the Chris- 
tian form of civilization. Moreover, the most 
of these are advancing, and that, too, with 
amazing rapidity. Christianity, simply as a so- 
cial or civil power, may be said to control the 
physical resources of the world. She exerts a 
strange influence, even in pagan and Moham- 
medan lands. Hers are the ships, rhe roads, the 
steam engines, the electric telegraphs, the lan- 
guages, the science and the literature of the na- 
tions. She can use them all, and does use them 
all, for the accomplishment of her designs. 

But Christian countries, as they are called, 
themselves differ much. Some are far in advance 
of the others. Two or three are feeble, almost as 
feeble as Mohammedan countries. If not re- 
formed and elevated, they will grow feebler and 
feebler, every day, and may finally become ex- 
tinct, like the empires of antiquity, which per- 
ished in their sins. " That nation that serveth 
not me," saith God, " shall perish." Such are 
dashed to pieces like a potters vessel. Their 
power and their glory pass away forever. Hence 
all the revolutions and convulsions in the past 
history of the world. Hence the volcanic con- 



MODERN SOCIETY. 488 

dition of some European, as well as Asiatic 
states. " I will overturn, overturn, overturn," is 
the declaration of the Almighty, by his prophet, 
"till he come, whose right it is, and I will give 
it [the dominion] to him." 

But what is peculiarly striking in the present 
condition of the Christian nations, with all their 
imperfection, is, that Christianity is strongest in 
the strongest of these. Leaving France, Spain, 
and some other Papal countries out of the account, 
which are growing weaker and weaker by the 
force of despotism, or internal revolution, saying 
nothing also of Russia, with its peculiar position ? 
and semi-barbarous races, Christianity has taken 
up her abode more especially in Great Britain and 
North America, and through them reaches with 
a controlling influence both the eastern and the 
western hemispheres. To speak, however, with 
more precision, England and the United States, 
it is well known, have now nearly the one fourth 
part of the globe under their control. England 
sways her sceptre over a hundred and fifty mil- 
lions of the human race ; the United States gov- 
ern about twenty-five millions, so that these two 
command for Christianity, and Christian uses, 
one sixth of the population of the human race. 
Both, too, are increasing in numbers and resources 
beyond all former precedent. England is increas- 
ing rapidly, especially in her colonies, which are 



4S4 CHRIST IN IIISTORY. 

penetrating both Asia and Africa, while the 
United States indulge in no extravagant expecta- 
tion, when they hope, at the close of the nine- 
teenth century, to have a population, within their 
borders, of a hundred millions. 

These two are the great commercial nations. 
Every where they diffuse themselves, and plant 
extensive colonies. Two thirds of all the roads 
and railways, and nearly the whole of the oceanic 
steam navigation of the world, at this moment, 
are in their hands. Their language, their influ- 
ence, their usages, their ideas, are becoming all 
but cosmopolitan. With the single exception of 
France, and even in her case to a very limited 
extent, Papal nations are planting no colonies, 
and exerting little influence beyond their own 
sphere, while all the Protestant nations^ especially 
England and the United States, are taking pos- 
session, we trust for Christ, of some of the most 
interesting and influential portions of the globe. 

The manner in which, by a long course of 
preparation, Christianity has taken possession of 
the German or Teutonic race, including the 
Anglo-Saxon, which we maintain to be the 
leading or central race, in modern times, is one 
of the most singular and striking events in his- 
tory. The only other race that can compete with 
this is the Slavonic, including the Bohemians, 
Hungarians, Russians, and some others ; but this 



MODERN SOCIETY. 485 

race is partly Protestant, and in the case of the 
Greek church, not without hope of improvement 
and reformation. Still, every one must allow, 
that the Slavonic race, as a mass, is far inferior 
to the Anglo-Saxon in freedom and education, 
in science, art, and commerce. What is called 
the Keltic or Celtic race is, in the judgment of 
some of the most acute and learned historians, 
Niebuhr, Thierry, Arnold, and others, entirely 
lost.* The Latin races, as for convenience they 
are designated, sometimes spoken of as Celtic, 
are a mixed people, partly Teutonic, yet differing 
somewhat from what we call the German or 
Saxon stock, and deriving something of their 
character and tendencies from the admixture of 
the old Roman or Italian elements. In these we 
include the Italians, Spaniards, and to some 



* "In the fourth century before the Christian era, the Kelts or 
Gauls broke through the thin screen which had hitherto concealed 
them from sight, and began for the first time to take their part in 
the great drama of the nations. For nearly two hundred years they 
continued to fill Europe and Asia with the terror of their name; but 
it was a passing tempest, and if useful at all, it was useful only to 
destroy. The Gauls could communicate no essential points of hu- 
man character in which others might be deficient; they could nei- 
ther improve the intellectual state of mankind, nor its social and 
political relations. When, therefore, they had done their appointed 
work of havoc, they were doomed to be themselves extirpated, or to 
be lost amidst nations of greater creative and constructive power ; 
nor is there any race which has left fewer traces of itself in the 
character and institutions of modern civilization." — Arnold's Ilisto 
ry of Rome, vol. i. p. 499. 

41* 



486 CIIIMST IN HISTORY. 

extent, the French, all belonging to the Latin or 
Papal church. The south of Germany is par- 
tially occupied by people of similar affinities, 
and may be spoken of in the same category. 
By the German or Saxon race, we mean the 
Germans proper, who came from beyond the 
Rhine, who were never subdued by the Roman 
empire, and who in all ages, whether pagan or 
Christian, have exhibited singular energy and 
independence of character.* To this class belong 
the Saxons, Anglo-Saxons, and even Normans, 
the inhabitants of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, 
the north of Germany, the English, and the 
Scotch. All have a common origin, and com- 
mon characteristics. Even in a mixed state, 
they betray their peculiar affinities and tenden- 
cies. Gazing beyond the Rhine, the ancient 
frontier of the Roman empire, and the limit 
therefore of two distinct worlds, and modes of 
existence, Roman and Teutonic, Dr. Arnold 
says, " Far beyond us lay the land of our Saxon 
and Teutonic forefathers — the land uncorrupted 
by Roman or any other mixture ; the birthplace 
of the most moral races of men that the world 
has yet seen — of the soundest laws, the least 
violent passions, and the fairest domestic and 

* Ger-man means fielding man. His is that old, tough, inde- 
pendent, indomitable race, admired by Tacitus, which subdued the 
Eoinan world, 



MODERN SOCIETY. 48V 

civil virtues. I thought of that memorable de- 
feat of Varus and his three legions, which forever 
confined the Romans to the western side of the 
Rhine, and preserved the Teutonic nation, the 
regenerating element in modern Europe, safe and 
free." * 

" Our English race," says the same acute and 
philosophical thinker, in his Lectures on Modern 
History, developing the great fact to which we 
have referred, " is the German race. And that 
this element is an important one, cannot be 
doubted for an instant. Our English race is the 
German race ; for though our Norman fathers 
had learned to speak a stranger's language, yet 
in blood, as we know, they were the Saxons' 
brethren ; both alike belong to the Teutonic or 
German stock. Now, the importance of this stock 
is plain from this, that its intermixture with the 
Keltic and Roman races at the fall of the Western 
empire, has changed the whole face of Europe. 
It is doubly remarkable, because the other ele- 
ments of modern history are derived from the 
ancient world. If we consider the Roman em- 
pire in the fourth century of the Christian era, 
we shall find in it Christianity, we shall find in 
it all the intellectual treasures of Greece, all the 
social and political wisdom of Rome. What was 

* Life and Correspondence, App. No. iii. 1. Quoted in his Lec- 
tures, p. 59. 



488 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

not there, was simply the German race, and the 
peculiar qualities which characterize it. This one 
addition was of such power that it changed the 
character of the whole mass ; the peculiar stamp 
of the middle ages is undoubtedly German ; the 
change manifested in the last three centuries has 
been owing to the revival of the older elements 
with greater power, so that the German element 
has been less manifestly predominant. But the 
element still preserves its force, for good or for 
evil, in almost every country of the civilized 
world." 

This German or Saxon element is becoming 
more and more prominent and decisive in its in- 
fluence upon society. It has embodied itself in 
books, laws, and institutions. It is increasingly 
active, aggressive, and diffusive. It animates 
especially the free enterprising portions of Chris- 
tendom. In a word, it has been enthroned by 
Christianity, as a central and pervading power. 
Emancipated by the Reformation, it has founded 
institutions and empires. It has given to man- 
kind freedom and hope. From its favorite centres 
between the great oceans and continents of the 
east and west, it is spreading civilization, com- 
merce, and Christianity, over the world. 

We shall here, however, be asked, whether the 
race in Germany, especially in the north of Ger- 
many, has not forsaken Christianity for infidelity. 



MODERN SOCIETY. 489 

We reply raost decisively, No ! A confused, 
transitional state has occurred there, and some 
vague, speculative infidelity has been evolved ; 
bat it is temporary. The heart of Germany is 
sound, and will yet be given to Christ, with the 
full fervor of its strength. The learned men of 
Germany, the theologians and the philosophers, 
are coming rapidly to the acknowledgment of 
the supernatural character and claims of Chris- 
tianity, as the religion of God. Strauss is already 
effete. The essence of faith is all but universally 
acknowledged, and the rest, we doubt not, will 
come in due time. " I say w r ith Meier," says 
Bunsen, " and with almost all German writers 
of note, that the doctrine of the Father, Son, 
and Holy Ghost is the fundamental doctrine of 
Christianity, and that without it, Christianity, as 
a theological and philosophical system, cannot 
rank much above Rabbinism and Mohammed- 
anism." * Spiritual religion, too, is advancing 
among students and thinkers. The common 
people are joyfully receiving the gospel from the 
lips of Oncken and others. A new reformation, 
like that of Luther, seems on the eve of being 
inaugurated among the whole German people. 

But it is in England and North America we 
see the Anglo-Saxon race in its glory and strength, 
rejoicing in the truth, and giving the gospel to 

* Hippolytus, vol. i. p. 303. 



490 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

mankind. Unconquerable, (for the old Teutonic 
or German stock, neither in its native haunts be- 
yond the Rhine, nor in any other part of the 
globe, into which it has emigrated, has ever been 
subdued by a foreign power,) persevering, self- 
reliant ; self-sacrificing, if need be ; loving free- 
dom, and contending for it as the heritage of all ; 
enlightened and enterprising, covering all lands 
and all seas with its science and commerce ; 
venerating the Bible, which it has translated into 
more than a hundred and twenty languages, or 
nearly all that are spoken on the earth ; clinging 
to Christianity, as the support of the soul, and 
the hope of the world ; and disposed, by means 
of her missionary army, to preach it to every 
creature under heaven, — we may well recognize 
the Saxon race as the central and chosen people, 
through whom Christ shall win the empire of 
mankind. 

We will not, however, confine ourselves to any 
narrow or local view of this great subject, God 
has his chosen ones in all places, centres of influ- 
ence and means of blessing, in all lands, and 
among all races. Christ is every where. His foot- 
steps are seen in Burmah and China, as w r ell as 
in Germany and England. He is walking among 
the churches of the Armenians and the Nestorians, 
of the Sandwich and Polynesian Isles. Far away 
in the depths of Africa, and on the bleak shores 



MODERN SOCIETY. 491 

of Greenland, on the plains of Australia, and 
amid the golden fields of the Pacific slope, his 
benign presence is felt and seen. 

It has been intimated that, in the present day, 
and especially in Christendom, the tendency of 
all things is to unity and universality, and that 
it is by their tendency we can predict their issue. 
We are encouraged to do this, especially when 
we find the various forces actually moving and 
converging to a common result. Now, every one 
will allow that such is the direction of Christi- 
anity. It is a universal religion, being adapted 
to man as man, and therefore its resistless aim is 
to spread over the world, and bring the whole 
into spiritual unity. In the same line, and ap- 
parently under the same influence, like scattered 
streams flowing into one vale, and so forming 
one river, we see the other forces of society con- 
verging to a common issue. Thus commerce is 
overleaping all its ancient barriers, spreading 
over all seas and lands, and bringing the na- 
tions into commercial brotherhood. They are 
finding out, in spite of themselves, that the in- 
terest of one is the interest of all. Thus, while 
commerce diffuses and distributes its energies, it 
also unites them in a common system. While 
it spreads to the circumference, it attracts to the 
centre. It links land to land, and sea to sea; it 
gathers community to community, and tribe to 



492 CHTtlST IN HISTORY. 

tribe ; it calls to the remotest races, and invites 
them to unity of interest and aim. It diminishes 
the fierceness and frequency of war, gives facili- 
ties for the spread of common blessings, Christi- 
anity among the rest, and thus makes it the in- 
terest of one and all to live in harmony and 
peace. 

The same tendency may be seen in science. 
All the particular branches of science have a 
common tie, and are found to belong to one great 
system. They have a tendency, therefore, among 
all who cultivate them, though far separated 
from each other by land or ocean, to produce 
common ideas. They unite rival nations by the 
ties of thought and interchange of discoveries. 
In this way the science of one, in process of time, 
becomes the science of all. Bigotries and super- 
stitions give way under the gracious influence 
of extending knowledge, while an open field is 
cleared for the conquests of the cross. 

Such is the tendency also of modern speculative 
philosophy. It seeks unity and order, and con- 
sequent universality. It recognizes, sometimes 
produces, a common type of thought, and not 
only this, but a common type of humanity. 
Moreover its singular vacillations and contradic- 
tions find their centre in Christ, as the manifes- 
tation of the true God and eternal life Thus, 
in the present day, philosophy is eminently 



MODERN SOCIETY. 493 

eclectic and free. It belongs to no class perma- 
nently, and in its higher spiritual relations aims 
to recognize a common Christianity, producing 
thereby a common life and destiny. It has not 
reached this as yet, but such is its tendency. 

The tendency even of politics, in all the en- 
lightened nations, flows in the same direction. 
Gervinus, in his Introduction to the History of 
Modern Europe, has, by a laborious analysis, 
demonstrated this great fact. Through many 
changes and struggles, an advance towards 
equal, and consequently universal rights is visi- 
ble. How strikingly and beautifully is this de- 
veloped on the North American continents! The 
longing and the struggle for these rights is visible 
enough in other lands. The end is universal lib- 
erty, a recognition of the rights of God and the 
rights of man — what the socialists dream after, 
but for the want of solid Christian principle, and 
the sure light of eternal truth, they cannot real- 
ize, equality, freedom, fraternity, that- is, order, 
unity, universality, under Christ and Christianity. 

Thus, too, language, the great civilizer, with 
all the elements of social life, is tending to unity 
and universality. How the Saxon tongue and 
Saxon literature, for example, are spreading over 
the whole western hemisphere, and bringing dif- 
ferent peoples into unity and repose ! See, too, 
how in the other hemispheres it penetrates vari- 
42 



494 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

ous lands, pagan and Mohammedan. Such, 
also, is the tendency of the French and the 
German tongues, and with them, of course, their 
knowledge and power. All seek unity and uni- 
versality. The German especially is beginning 
to assert its rights ; it is spreading fast and far. 
A new reformation in the fatherland will send 
it, by the mouth of missionaries and preachers, 
to the ends of the earth. 

But it is the Bible and Christianity which are 
exerting the greatest influence, through various 
languages, in producing the sublime result of 
which we speak. Distant and dissimilar com- 
munities are thus calling to each other — China 
to Europe and Europe to China ; Burmah to 
America and America to Burmah, in the com- 
mon speech of Christianity. The prodigious 
influence of this peculiar force can scarcely be 
realized. Much of it is so delicate, and so far 
removed from the domain of the senses, that it 
will only be recognized, when it has produced 
some stupendous result. 

We are not, indeed, blind to adverse influences 
even in the bosom of Christendom. But we 
are not speaking now so much of Christendom, 
defective, and far behind its ideal, as of Christian- 
ity itself, a force amid the forces of society, all 
of which are rapidly converging to unity, and 
consequent universality. 



MODERN SOCIETY. 495 

Christianity, in its present form of embodi- 
ment in the world, is only partially developed. 
It is still checked and hindered by many ob 
stacles. But its real resources are boundless, 
and will yet be discovered on a scale of gran- 
deur which will astonish the world. Like Christ, 
Christianity is immutable and immortal, and 
must prevail. Changes may come, dynasties 
may rise and fall, revolution, as of old, may fol- 
low revolution ; but the gospel will survive as a 
supernatural, self-existent mystery. Opinions, 
too, may fluctuate, and many conflicting theories 
be propounded among men, but Christ, as a 
Life, divine and indestructible, will remain the 
same. In all ages his empire of love is one. 
It can no more be destroyed than God himself 
can be destroyed ; for it is the embodied Divin- 
ity. The true church, then, or that which forms 
the essence of the true church, is but his heart 
of love beating among men It already counts 
its subjects by millions, millions who would die 
for their Lord and King. It is secretly spread- 
ing among the nations. It is " gathering" men 
of all times and of all lands to the cross. And, 
as good must finally overcome evil, Christianity, 
like an atmosphere of light, radiant and peace- 
ful, shall envelop the globe. 



APPENDIX. 



42 ' 



(497) 



APPENDIX. 

ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Note A. — PAGAN RELIGION. 

The following estimate, though partial and one sided, of 
the moral value of the religions of the ancient heathen world, 
coming from one of the profoundest scholars of the age, de 
serves consideration. "All the moral theories of [pagan] 
antiquity were utterly disjoined from religion. The suppo- 
sition that the ancient pagan systems of religion were intro- 
ductory to some scheme of morals, is an anachronism. It is 
the anachronism of unconsciously reflecting back upon th • an- 
cient religions of darkness, and as if essential to all religion.-?, 
features that never were suspected as possible, until they 
had been revealed by Christianity, [including Judaism.] 
Religion, in the eye of a pagan, had no more relation to 
morals than it had to ship building or trigonometry. But, 
then, why was religion honored among pagans? How did it 
ever arise ? What was its object ? Object ! it hid nc 
if by this you mean ulterior object. Pagan religion arose in 
no motive, but in an impulse. Pagan religion aimed at no dis- 
tant prize ahead ; it tied from a danger immediately behind, 
The gods of the pagans were wicked natures ; but they were 
natures to be feared and to be propitiated ; for they were fierce, 

C439) 



500 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and they were moody, and (as regarded men, who had no 
Minos) they were powerful. Once accredited as facts, the pa- 
ir m gods could not be regarded as otherwise than terrific facts ; 
and thus it was, that in terror, blind terror, as against power 
in the hands of divine wickedness, arose the ancient religions 
of paganism. Because the gods were wicked, man was 
religious; because Olympus was cruel, earth trembled; 
because the divine beings were the most lawless of Thugs, 
the human being became the most abject of sycophants. 

" Had the religions of paganism arisen teleologically ; 
that is, with a view to certain purposes, to certain final 
causes ahead ; had they grown out of forward looking views, 
contemplating, for example, the furthering of civilization, or 
contemplating some interest, in a world beyond the present, 
there would probably have arisen, concurrently, a section on 
all such religions devoted to positive instruction. There 
would have been a doctrinal part. There might have been 
interwoven with the ritual of worship, a system of economies 
or a code of civil prudence, or a code of health, or even a 
secret revelation of mysterious relations between man and 
the Deity ; all which existed in Judaism. But as the case 
stood, this was impossible. The gods were mere odious 
facts, like scorpions or rattlesnakes, having no moral aspects 
whatever ; public nuisances ; and bearing no relation to man 
but that of capricious tyrants. First arriving upon a basis of 
terror, these gods never subsequently enlarged that basis ; 
nor sought to enlarge it. All antiquity contains not a hint 
of the possibility that love could arise, as by any ray mingling 
with the sentiments in a human creature towards a divine 
one. Not even sycophants pretended to love the gods. 

" Under this original peculiarity of paganism, there arose 
two consequences, which I will mark by the Greek letters a 
and (9. The latter I will notice in its order, first calling the 
reader's attention to the consequence marked ex, which is 
this : In the full and profoundest sense of the word believe, 



APPENDIX. 501 

the pagans could not be said to believe in any gods ; but in 
the ordinary sense, they did, and do, and must believe in all 
gods. As this proposition will startle some readers, and is 
yet closely involved in the main truth which I am now 
pressing, viz., the meaning and effect of a simple cultus, as 
distinguished from a high doctrinal religion, let us seek an 
illustration from our Indian empire. The Christian mission- 
aries from home, when first opening their views to Hindoos, 
describe thems.elves as laboring to prove that Christianity is 
a true religion, and as either asserting, or leaving it to be 
inferred, that, on that assumption, the Indian religion is a 
false one. But the poor Hindoo never dreamed of doubting 
that the Christian was a true religion ; nor will he at all 
infer, from your religion being true, that his own must be 
false. Both are true, he thinks : all religions are true ; and all 
gods are true gods ; and all are equally true. Neither can he 
understand what you mean by a false religion, or how a reli- 
gion could be false ; and he is perfectly right. Wherever re- 
ligions consist only of a worship, as the Hindoo religion does, 
there can be no competition amongst them as to truth. That 
would be an absurdity, not less nor other than for a Prussian to 
denounce the Austrian emperor, or an Austrian to denounce 
the Prussian king, as a false sovereign. False ? How false ? 
In what sense false ? Surely not as non-existing. But at 
least, (the reader will reply,) if the religions contradict each 
other, one of them must be false. Yes, but that is impossible. 
Two religions cannot contradict each other, where both 
contain only a cultus ; they could come into collision only by 
means of a doctrinal or directly affirmative part, like those of 
Christianity and Mohammedanism. But this part is what no 
idolatrous religion ever had, or will have. The reader must 
not understand me to mean that, merely as a compromise of 
courtesy, two professors of different idolatries would agree 
to recognize each other. Not at all. The truth of one does 
not imply the falsehood of the other. Both are true as facts: 



502 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

neither can be false, in any higher sense, because neither 
makes any pretence to truth doctrinal. 

"This distinction between a religion having merely a 
worship, and a religion having also a body of doctrinal 
truth, is familiar to the Mohammedans ; and they convey the 
distinction by a very appropriate expression. Those majestic 
religions, (as they esteem them,) which rise above the mere 
pomps and tympanies of ceremonial worship, they demon- 
strate l religions of the book.' There are of such religions 
three, viz., Judaism, Christianity, and Islamism. The first 
builds upon the Law and the Prophets, or perhaps sufficiently 
upon the Pentateuch ; the second upon the Gospel ; the last 
upon the Koran. No other religion can be said to rest upon 
a book, or even to admit of a book. For we must not be 
duped by the case where a lawgiver attempts to connect his 
own human institutes with the venerable sanctions of a na- 
tional religion, or the case where a learned antiquary unfolds 
historically the record of a vast mythology. Heaps of such 
cases (both law and mythological records) survive in the 
Sanscrit, and in the pagan languages. But these are books 
which build upon the religion, not books upon which the 
religion is built. If a religion consists only of a ceremonial 
worship, in that case there can be no opening for a book ; 
because the forms and details publish themselves daily, in 
the celebration of the worship, and are preserved, from age 
to age, without dependence on a book. But, if a religion 
has a doctrine, this implies a . revelation or message from 
Heaven, which cannot, in any other way, secure the transmis- 
sion of the message to future generations, than by causing it 
to be registered in a book. A book, therefore, will be con- 
vertible with a doctrinal religion : no book, no doctrine ; 
and again, no doctrine, no book. 

" Upon these principles we may understand the second 
consequence, (marked #,) which has perplexed many men, 
viz., why it is, that the Hindoos, in our own times, but 



APPENDIX. 503 

equally, why it is that the Greek and Roman idolaters of an- 
tiquity, never proselytized ; no, nor could have viewed such 
an attempt as rational. Naturally, if a religion is doctrinal, 
any truth which it possesses, as a secret deposit consigned to 
its keeping by a revelation, must be equally valid for one 
man as for another, without regard to race or nation. For a 
doctrinal religion therefore to proselytize, is no more than a 
duty of consistent humanity. You, the professors of that 
religion, possess the medicinal fountains. You will not 
diminish your own share by imparting it to others. What 
churlishness, if you should grudge to others a health which 
does not interfere with your own! Christians, therefore, 
Mohammedans, and Jews originally, in proportion as they were 
sincere and conscientious, have always invited or even forced, 
the unbelieving to their own faith: nothing but accidents of 
situations, local or political, have disturbed this effort. But on 
the other hand, for a mere ' cultus ' to attempt conversions, is 
nonsense. An ancient Roman could have had no motive for 
bringing you over to the worship of Jupiter Capitolinus ; nor 
you any motive for going. * Surely, poor man,' he would 
have said, ■ you have some god of your own, who will be 
quite as good for your countrymen as Jupiter for mine. But 
if you have not, really I am sorry for your case ; and a very 
odd case it is ; but I don't see how it could be improved by 
talking nonsense. You cannot beneficially, you cannot ra- 
tionally, worship a tutelary Roman deity, unless in the 
character of a Roman ; and a Roman you may become, 
legally and politically. Being such, you will participate in 
all advantages, if any there are, of our national religion ; and 
without needing a process of conversion, either in substance 
or in form. Ipso facto, and without any separate choice of 
your own, or becoming a Roman citizen, you become a party 
to the Roman worship.' For an idolatrous religion to prose- 
lytize, would be not only useless, but unintelligible.' — Dt 
Quincey. 



504 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

There is much of truth in all this ; although De Quincey 
has not made sufficient allowance for the universal prev- 
alence in man of the religious element, which, in favorable 
circumstances, infuses even into false religions a certain 
amount of moral and political influence. This, and not fear 
alone, is their true origin. Indeed fear is the natural 
exaggeration of the religious element, in circumstances 
of profound or general ignorance. The religious instinct 
must satisfy itself somehow, even if it originate gods " whom 
guilt makes welcome." It is true, however, that the 
ancient pagan nations, even the most enlightened and pol- 
ished, for example the Greeks and the Romans, might be 
described as " without God and without hope in the world." 
Notwithstanding the traditional fragments of a better faith, 
and the lofty imaginings of their philosophers, their public 
cultus was a gross, often an immoral nature worship. It was 
sustained by no body of living truth, and exerted upon the 
community at large no transforming moral influence. Indeed, 
those who were virtuous were often virtuous in spite of their 
religion. The chaste Lucretia, as Rousseau remarks, adored 
the unchaste Venus. The popular Jupiter was a licentious 
bandit, who, in modern times, would have deserved a place in 
the jail or penitentiary. And yet who can fail to see, through 
the whole, the strugglings of the great human heart, made 
for God, for duty and immortality, the dim sense of the infi- 
nite, the consciousness of guilt, and the longing for redemp- 
tion ? The ancient religions, especially the elder, are not 
absolute untruths ; they are only perversions and corruptions 
of that which is highest in man. 

Note B. — ORIGINAL SIN UNIVERSALLY AC- 
KNOWLEDGED. 

Speaking of "original sin," which Coleridge designates 
" self-originating sin," that distinguished thinker remarks 



APPENDIX. 505 

" that it is no tenet first introduced or imposed by Christian- 
ity, and which, should a man see fit to disclaim the authority 
of the gospel, would no longer have any claim on his atten- 
tion. It is no perplexity that a man may get rid of, by ceasing 
to be a Christian, and which has no existence for a philosophic 
Deist. It is a fact, affirmed indeed in the Christian Scriptures 
alone, with the force and frequenc}^ proportioned to its con- 
summate importance ; but a fact acknowledged in every re- 
ligion that retains the least glimmering of the patriarchal 
faith in a God infinite, a,nd yet personal ; a fact assumed or 
implied as the basis of every religion of which any relics 
remain of earlier date than the last and total apostasy of the 
pagan world, when the faith of the great I AM, the Creator, 
was extinguished in the sensual Polytheism, which is inevi- 
tably the final result of Pantheism, or the worship of nature ; 
and the only form under which the Pantheistic scheme — 
that according to which the world is God, and the material 
universe itself the only Absolute Being — can exist for a 
people, or become the popular creed. Thus, in the most 
ancient books of the Brahmins, the deep sense of this fact, 
and the doctrine grounded upon obscure traditions of the 
promised remedy, are seen struggling, and now gleaming, 
now flashing, through the mist of Pantheism, and producing 
the incongruities and gross contradictions of the Brahmin 
mythology ; while, in the rival sect — in that most strange 
phenomenon, the religious atheism of the Buddhists, with 
whom God is only universal matter, considered abstractedly 
from all particular forms — the fact is placed among the 
delusions natural to man, which, with other superstitions, 
grounded on a supposed essential difference between right 
and wrong, the sage is to decompose or precipitate from the 
menstruum of his more refined apprehensions! Thus, in de- 
nying the fact, they virtually acknowledge it. 

" From the remote East, turn to the mythology of the Lesser 
Asia, to the descendants of Javan, who dwelt in the tents 
43 



506 CHRIST IN II 18 TORT. 

of Shem, and possessed the isles. Here again, and in the 
usual form of an historic solution, we find the same fact, and 
as characteristic of the human race, stated in that earliest 
and most venerable mythus or symbolic parable of Prome- 
theus — that truly wonderful fable, in which the characters 
of the rebellious spirit, and of the divine Friend of mankind, 
(Seu; (f-ihivdyuinog,) are united in the same person ; thus, in 
the most striking manner, noting the forced amalgamation 
of the patriarchal tradition with the incongruous scheme of 
Pantheism. This and the connected tale of lo, which is 
but the sequel of the Prometheus, stand alone in the Greek 
mythology, in which elsewhere both gods and men are mere 
powers and products of nature. And most noticeable it is, 
that soon after the promulgation and spread of the gospel 
had awakened the moral sense, and had opened the eyes 
even of its wiser enemies to the necessity of providing some 
solution of this great problem of the moral world, the beau- 
tiful parable of Cupid and Psyche, was brought forward as 
a rival of the fall of man ; and the fact of a moral corrup- 
tion connatural with the human race was again recognized. 
In the assertion of original sin, the Greek mythology rose 
and set. 

" But not only was the fact acknowledged of a law in the 
nature of man resisting the law of God, (and whatever is 
placed in active and direct oppugnancy to the good is, ipso 
facto, positive evil,) it was likewise an acknowledged mys- 
tery, and one which, by the nature of the subject, must ever 
remain such — a problem of which any other solution than 
the statement of the fact itself was demonstrably impossible. 
That it is so, the least reflection will suffice to convince 
every man, who has previously satisfied himself that he is a 
responsible being. It follows, necessarily, from the postulate 
of a responsible will." — Aids to Reflection. 



APPENDIX. 607 



Note C — INFLUENCE OF JUDAISM. 

The following passage, from A. Coquerel's Christianisme, 

will throw light on the relations of the Jews to the neigh- 
boring nations, and especially their influence upon the Ori- 
ental Magi. 

" There are innumerable texts in the sacred writings of 
both covenants, which express the idea of the mission or 
privilege of the Jews, and of their title of people of God. 
This mission may be summed up in four distinct, but closely 
united points : the knowledge of the tvue God ; the promise 
of the Savior; the drawing up and preservation of the Old 
Testament ; and lastly, the accomplishment of the redemption 
in the very bosom of their nation. 

" 'Abraham was called.' Gen. xii. 1. 'By faith Abraham, 
when he was called to go out into a place which he should 
after receive for an inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out, 
not knowing whither he went.' Heb. xi. 8. On all the 
great occasions of his life, it was said of him. 'In thee shall 
all the families of the earth be blessed.' Gen. xii. 3 ; xviii. 
18; xxii. 18; xxvi. 4. 'And he [Abraham] believed in 
the Lord, and it was accounted to him for righteousness ; ' 
tint is, Abraham, with confidence, accepted his great destiny, 
and devoted himself to his holy task, (xv. 6;) thus he became 
the father of all them tint believed, (Rom. iv. 11;) that is, 
the first head of particularism, the first head or guardian of 
religious truth. ' For I know him, [said the Lord,] that he 
will command his children and his household after him. and 
they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judg- 
ment ; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which 
he hath spoken of him. 9 Gen. xviii. 19. ' Now, therefore, 
it is s tid to the contemporaries of Mos?s, ' if ye will obey my 
voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then shali ye be a pecu- 
liar treasure unto me above all people.' Exod. xix. 5. . - - 



508 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

' That thou mayst be a holy people unto the Lord thy God 
as he hath spoken.' Dent. xxvi. 19. 'For the Lord will n&. 
forsake his people for his great name's sake ; because it hath 
pleased the Lord to make you his people.' 1 Sam. xii. 22. 
'Ho hath not dealt so with any nation ; and as for his judg- 
ments, they have not known them.' Ps. cxlvii. 

" e Unto you first,' said St. Peter to the Jews, ' God having 
raised up his Son Jesus, sent him.' Acts xii. 26. ' Who 
are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the 
glory, (Ex. xi. 34, 35 ; 1 Sam. iv. 22; 2 Chron. vii. 1, 2,) and 
the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of 
God, and the promises ; whose are the fathers, and of whom, 
as concerning the flesh, Christ came.' Rom. ix. 4, 5. i Now 
I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for 
the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the 
fathers.' xv. 8. 

" This divine commission, given to Israel, constituted par- 
ticularism, and made the Jewish religion a national religion. 

" Yet Providence prepared afar off the return to universal- 
ism ; not only at the moment of the captivity, and by the dis- 
persion of the Jews over Asia, at a period when Greece and 
Italy were comparatively barbarous ; but we may see the 
light of universalism faintly dawning in some degree, even 
in the age when Solomon erected the temple of a unique and 
*ocal worship, in the prayer of dedication, this prince says : 
1 Moreover, concerning a stranger that is not of thy people 
Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; 
. . . when he shall come and pray toward [in] this house, 
hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to 
all that the stranger calleth to thee for, that all the people 
of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee.' 1 Kings 
viii. 41-43 ; 2 Chron. vi. 32. Isaiah proclaims their rights, and 
reassures the proselytes, and even eunuchs, (who, in whatever 
manner they had become so, were not considered as Jewish 
citizens.) Deut. xxiii. 1. ' Neither let the son of the stran 



APPENDIX. 509 

ger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying 
The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people ; neither 
jet the ennuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree, (I shall be cu', 
off as a barren tree.) For thus saith the Lord : Those that 
choose the things that please me, and take hold of my 
covenant, even unto them will I give, in mine house, and 
within my walls, a place.' Isaiah lvi. 3, 4, 5. Ezekiel, 
when he promises to the Jews a new division of the Holy 
Land, meaning by this image to give them assurance of a 
restoration after the captivity, does not forget the strangers 
or proselytes who were soon to be more numerous than ever. 
* And it shall come to pass that ye shall divide it [the coun- 
try] by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers 
that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among 
you ; and they shall be unto you as born in the country 
among the children of Israel ; they shall have inheritance 
with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to 
pass, that in whit tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall 
ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord God. 1 Ezek. 
xlvii. 22, 23. 

" A curious passage in Isaiah, the complete explanation 
of which would require a separate dissertation, opened to 
the Mosiac system a vast perspective of extension. 'In 
that day,' says the prophet, 'shall five cities [five several, 
the definite for the indefinite number] in the land of Egypt 
speak the language of Canaan, [a figurative expression — 
the language of the worship of the true God,] and swear to 
[by] the Lord of hosts. . . . And the Lord shall be 
known to Egypt. ... In that day shall there be a high- 
way out of Egypt to Assyria, [there shall be frequent and 
intimate communication,] . . . and the Egyptians shall 
serve the Lord with the Assyrians. In that day shall Isract 
be the third with Egypt and Assyria.' Isaiah xix. 18-24. 
This whole passage, extremely poetic in style, is a prophecy 
of the progress which should be made by the Jewish religior 
43* 



510 



CHRIST IN HISTORY. 



under the Ptolemies, during whieh period there were a miU 
Won of Jews established in Egypt, whose teaching and ex- 
must have greatly diffused the knowledge of the true 
God and of revelation, and from whom even the nations of 
the interior of Asia derived benefit. It was impossible more 
effectually to undermine particularism than by placing Israel 
as the third with two strange nations in the service of the 
true God. 

" The intention of Providence of gradually preparing 
universalism by diffusing among strange nations some hopes 
of the advent of a Messiah, and the wisdom of the means 
employed to this end, find a striking confirmation in the nar- 
rative of the arrival of the Magi at Jerusalem. Of these 
Magi, tradition has made kings ; the first interpreters of 
Scripture opened the way to these errors, by interpreting 
literally some expressions of the prophets and of the Psalms, 
and resting upon the ideas of the Jews, who expected a 
temporal Messiah, the King of kings, before whom all men 
should bow : the Psalmist, in describing the glory of Solomon, 
says, 'The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring 
presents ; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.' 
Ps. lxxii. 10. Isaiah, in one of his Messianic prophecies, has 
said, in a more explicit manner, kings shall see and arise, 
princes also shall worship. Isaiah xlix. 7. These passages 
probably contain the origin of those legends of tradition 
which has also endeavored to fix the number of kings, viz., 
three, solely because three kinds of presents, ' gold, and 
frankincense, and myrrh,' are mentioned in the gospel. 
These fables have not the slightest historical foundation, and 
deserve no attention, notwithstanding the endeavors which 
have been made to consecrate them, by erecting to these 
imaginary kings in a cathedral (Cologne) a cenotaph loaded 
with jewels. The word Magus is of Persian origin, and very 
ancient ; it signified priests, wise men, philosophers ; it ap- 
pears that, from the earliest historical times in Asia, these 



APPENDIX. 511 

Magi formed sorts of colleges or institutions, which corre- 
sponded with one another, obeyed a supreme head, and were 
principally occupied with drawing up calendars, consequent- 
ly, therefore, with astronomy, astrology, medicine, and phys- 
ics, and preserved the old traditions. Since the time of 
Alexander, their credit, science, and numbers had been 
greatly diminished ; the current of philosophy had flowed back 
towards Europe, in consequence of the Greek and Roman as- 
cendency ; and the foundation of Alexandria had greatly 
favored this change. It is, however, certain from the testi 
mony of contemporary writers, or nearly so, with the gospel, 
that men addicted to these studies, and known by this name, 
were still dispersed in Asia, and especially in Persia and 
Arabia. In the interval between the overthrow of the Jews 
under Nebuchadnezzar, and their restoration under Cyrus, 
Daniel, the author of the prophecy of the seventy weeks of 
years which were to elapse between Cyrus and the gospel, 
had been the head of these Magi. The recollection of this 
remarkable prophecy would naturally be preserved among 
them, and would be strongly awakened at the moment, when, 
according to the impartial testimony of three Roman histo- 
rians, a rumor was every where diffused that a master of the 
world was about to show himself in the East. The appear- 
ance of a meteor, perhaps of a comet, struck these Magi, who 
were always occupied with astrology. They believed that 
this phenomenon, coinciding with the date of Daniel's proph- 
ecy, announced its accomplishment ; the personage whose 
advent was predicted by Daniel, must, according to their 
ideas, be a king ; some of them, therefore, following the 
universal custom of the ancients, that of undertaking journeys 
for the purpose of verifying facts of science, went into 
Judea, not to a village like Bethlehem, but to the capital, 
and inquired, ' Where is he that is born King of the Jews 
for we have seen his star in the East,' Matt. ii. 2 ; that is, 
according to the erroneous ideas of astrology, the star an- 



512 



CHRIST IX HISTORY. 



nouncing his birth. This circumstance of the nativity, when 
thus explained, far from presenting any difficulty, is a con- 
firmation, both of the fact that the expectation of the Messiah 
was genera], and of the meaning of the prophecy of weeks. 
The presents offered by the Magi afford an example of the 
ancient and universal usage of the Eastern nations, followed 
even in the present day, never to approach princes or great 
personages without bringing gifts, among which are always 
some pieces of gold : and it must be remarked that in the 
whole conduct of the Magi there is nothing religious." 



Note D. — THE ESSEXES. 

The following is PhuVs account, in his book called 
u Quod Omnis Probus Liber." It is obviously exaggerated 
and rhetorical. In other parts of his works he makes differ- 
ent and modified statements. "There is no lack, in Pales- 
tine and Syria, of practical virtuous men. Some of them 
are called Essenes, on account of their holiness. Their 
number is about four thousand. They are truly pious ; they 
do not bring sacrifices, but are striving after purity of heext 
They do not live in cities, but in the rural districts. They 
avoid the former, that they may not be polluted by their 
vices. Their daily occupations are agriculture and mechan- 
ics ; but they neither deal in nor make instruments which 
are used in war. They serve and aid each other. They do 
not lay up money, nor care for riches ; these have no attrac- 
tions for them, and, therefore, they do not strive to secure 
them. When they have sufficient to maintain themselves 
with frugal meals, they are satisfied. Frugality is their only 
treasure. They do not trade, and, therefore, they are not 
tempted by avarice. They are free men, and serve each 
other gratuitously. They reject all employments in tbp 
service of rulers, considering such service as inhuman and 



APPENDIX. 513 

unjust, because it is opposed to the common law of nature 
and of man. They say that nature has not created us to be 
nominal, but real brothers ; and that it is only avarice that 
weakens the brotherly tie, changes unity and harmony into 
discord and strife, and disunites friends. They are engaged 
in the study of philosophy, to aid in the promotion of virtue 
but avoid all kinds of sophistry and display. From natural 
philosophy they have selected only those departments which 
treat of creation and the Creator; they cherish, however, the 
idea that nature is above our comprehension. Morals are 
with them a daily study, in accordance with the laws of their 
fathers, which laws, they hold, cannot be interpreted with- 
out the aid of inspiration. They employ, for that purpose, 
more especially the seventh day, which they keep holy, do- 
ing no common business in it. When they are in the temple, 
or in the synagogue, the young men sit next to the old, and 
listen to their teachings. They give instruction, not only in 
the fundamental virtues, purity of manners, holiness and in- 
tegrity of life, but also in the art of performing public and 
domestic duties. Their morals are based upon a threefold 
foundation — the love of God, of virtue, and of our neigh- 
bors. This is the test of their actions. Chastity, in their 
view, is the first of the virtues, which they vow to ob- 
serve for life. They never tell a falsehood, swear, or take 
an oath. They are not nominal saints ; this is proved 
by their renouncing all earthly goods, which the human 
heart desires, as riches, honor, and pleasure. Upon all these 
things they look with contempt. They lead a life of toil, 
but are temperate and free from cares. They make no show ; 
they are humane, modest, and never deviate from their regu- 
lations, but exhibit a firm character. Their benevolence is 
the hest proof of their philanthropy. Their eo/jality and 
community are admirable. Their dwellings are open to any 
stranger of their order. None of them has a dwelling 
which he may call his own ; but all live and eat in common 



514 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

What any one earns daily he puts into the treasury for com- 
mon use. The sick are maintained from their common con- 
tributions. The youth cherish for the aged filial reverence 
and submission, and support the gray headed, when not able 
to support themselves. Philosophy raises such heroes in 
virtue. This philosophy, indeed, does not boast of Grecian 
high-sounding phrases, but proves its excellence by induce- 
ments to sublime acts, through which eternal freedom is ob- 
tained. 

THERAPETJT2E, OR THERAPEUTES. 

In the De Vita Contemplativa, Philo thus describes the 
Therapeutae, who, if not precisely the same as the Essenes, 
were closely allied to them. Doubtless they had a common 
origin. They were the monks — perhaps we might say the 
mystics of Judaism. "The institution or the philosophic 
school of the Therapeutes is sufficiently explained by its 
name. They call themselves Therapeutes, and Therapeu- 
trides, that is, physicians ; but in a higher sense of the word, 
because they are chiefly engaged in curing the maladies of 
the soul, which men contract through their evil desires ; and 
also because they have learned from nature and the Holy 
Scriptures how to worship the only God. These Thera- 
peutae will rise higher and higher in their contemplation of 
that which is divine, when all visible things shall have passed 
away. Their institute is founded neither on tradition nor on 
proselyting ; but in the principle inherent in man, to yearn 
after the supernatural ; or a kind of inspiration which impels 
them to the vision of God, for which they hope. From the 
moment one enters their institute, he is, so to speak, dead to 
the world, and alive only to heaven and immortality. They 
give their possessions to their children, friends, or relatives. 
They leave father and mother, brothers, sisters, and children, 
kindred, friends, and country ; they free themselves from all 
♦hose worldly ties, which, to them, are of no value. They 



APPENDIX. 515 

leave the towns and retire into the country, where they live 
in solitude, not from misanthropy, but that their manners of life 
may be free from the corrupting influence of the conversation 
of those not initiated. This order of men may be found in 
many parts of the country above alluded to, and are tolerated 
and owned by Greeks and barbarians. They exist also in 
many parts of Egypt, and live chiefly in the neighborhood 
of Alexandria. From their dwelling-places they send the 
ablest of their men as emissaries, to choose the most con- 
venient place for settlement. They chiefly select the coun.- 
try around the Lake ' Mceris,' on account of its temperate 
climate and safe situation, as it is surrounded by villas, 
country seats, and villages. These settlements are uncom- 
monly productive, being exposed to neither great heat noi 
cold. Their houses are neither too near nor too remote from 
each other, in order that they may enjoy some kind of con- 
versation in their solitude, and have immediate assistance in 
the case of necessity. Every one of them has his own 
closet for prayer and devotion, which they call " vefiveTor" 
and " juovuoTijolov" For use in these closets they have the 
laws and the oracles of the prophets, hymns and ascetic 
writings, as also scientific works. God is the only object of 
their worship, to whose honor they perform their duties. 
Their dreams, therefore, are always of an elevated character, 
full of divine images. There are many instances of their 
dreams explaining the most difficult problems of philosophy. 
They pray twice a day, morning and evening. In the morn- 
ing they pray for protection and blessing during the follow- 
ing day, and for the illumination through the heavenly light; 
and in the evening they pray for divine assistance in their 
meditations in the law, and ascertaining the truth in the San- 
hedrim. Before their prayers they endeavor to expel every 
sensual thought. The remainder of the day they are en- 
gaged in meditation and contemplation. As soon as the . 
book of the sacred writers is opened, it is expounded through 



516 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

the assistance of the traditional philosophy, allegorically ; aa 
they hold that in the literal sense is concealed a mysterious 
one. They possess also many commentaries from the au- 
thors of their society, whom they strictly follow. They 
write also hymns and songs for religious worship in various 
metres." Compare Josephus, Antiquities xv. 10, 4. Jewish 
Wars, lii. c. 8, § 8 & 9. 

It would appear, from all this, highly probable that Philo 
was himself one of the Therapeutse, at least in theory. His 
opinions correspond with theirs. He reveres the sacred writ- 
ings, but interprets them allegoric ally. His system is partly 
philosophical, and his philosophy is partly traditional. He is 
devoted, like them, to mystical contemplation ; he claims a 
kind of inspiration. It is quite evident that he rejects the 
ordinary view of sacrifices, if not their use, and spiritualizes 
the whole Mosaic ritual. He believes in "the vision of 
God," pours contempt upon government and policy, and 
longs for the suprasensible and supernatural. His great aim 
in all his books is to " expound the ancient lessons of holy 
wisdom," and in fact his works are mainly " allegorical 
commentaries " on the " law and oracles of the prophets." If 
he admired the Platonic and Oriental philosophers, he ascribes 
their origin to the legislation and writings of Moses. His 
classification of mankind corresponds to the notions of the 
Therapeutse — 1. The earthly, who are devoted to pleasure ; 
2. The heavenly, who are occupied with human sciences ; 
and 3. The divine priests and prophets, who are the true 
" citizens of the world of ideas." In a word, he exhorts all 
men to withdraw from external engagements, and lose them- 
selves in the universal reason. 

We must acknowledge, however, that Philo vacillates 
somewhat in the practical application of his views, and in one 
of his tracts (De Decalogo, § 22) he attempts a conciliation 
between the theoretical and the practical. In the De Migra. 
Abra, he informs us that nis own experience had taught 



APPENDIX. 517 

him that he could not rid himself of himself, and attain to 
the vision of God, by going into the wilderness and abandon- 
ing society ; that it is not "change of place which brings 
evil or good," bat that " all depends upon that God who 
steers the ship of the soul in the direction he pleases." Per- 
haps a more intimate acquaintance with himself and others 
abated his lofty estimate of the Therapeutse ; hence we find 
him, in the De Profugis, castigating those who pretended to 
great interior sanctity, yet indulged in secret vice. He ex- 
horts men first to exercise themselves in the duties of com- 
mon life, before rushing into Therapeutic solitude. He 
maintains (De Profugis, § 6) "that human virtue should go 
first, the divine follow after." 

For information on the subject of Philo and the Philonic 
philosophy, see Ritter's Anc. Hist. iv. p. 407, et seq. Ne- 
ander's Church Hist. i. 52, 60. Dahne's Hist, of the Jew- 
ish Alexandrian Religious Philosophy, Halle, 1834. See 
art. on Philo, by the same author, in the Theol. Studien u. 
Kritiken, p. 984, et seq., 1833. 



Note E. — SACRIFICES. 

"The idea of sacrifice is so much the natural and necessary 
foundation of every religious worship, that it appears as 
such, not only in the dispensation of God's revelations by the 
Scripture, but in all pagan religions, from the Hindoo and 
Greek down to the negro and the inhabitant of California. 
The horrors and abominations which the desire of effecting 
the sacrifice produced, for instance in the service of Moloch, 
prove only how deeply the same is founded in human nature. 
When man feels his indestructible connection with the Di- 
vinity, in consequence of that voice of conscience which 
St. Paul mentions when speaking of the pagans, this con- 
nection appears to him either as that of a dependence upon 
44 



518 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

an almighty and benevolent power, or as that of a separation 
from a more intimate connection, a real union broken by 
acts which provoked the divine wrath. The first feeling 
will prompt him to thank, the second to attempt to propitiate. 
As his prayers will be those of thanksgiving or those of peni- 
tence, so the acts by which he feels the want to show and 
manifest his feelings, will be attempts either to thank God 
or soothe his wrath. All such acts fall under the denomina- 
tion of sacrifices, which implies that what is offered to God 
as a gift is considered on the one side as our property, and 
part of ourselves, and on the other as belonging to him. 

" Now, it is a mere corollary from the first truth revealed 
to us in Scripture on the fall of mankind, that man by him- 
self could neither effect such a real atonement for his sins 
as might appease divine justice, nor that act of thanksgiving 
which would answer eternal love. For in order to offer this 
latter sacrifice, his mind ought first to be entirely relieved 
and delivered from the consciousness of sin and the divine 
wrath, that is to say, a perfect, everlasting, and all-relieving 
atonement ought first to have been found ; and again there 
being and remaining the fear and consciousness of the di- 
vine wrath in the mind of the natural man when approaching 
the Deity, every attempt to find and effect such an atone- 
ment, by offering even the dearest thing or person, or by 
excruciating himself, must only increase the despair of being 
reconciled to God, or confirm men in external rights and 
ceremonies. 

" Only one way remained, therefore, for a divine revelation 
which for ages would prepare what was once to be accom- 
plished, and this is the system of the Levitical worship and 
sacrifice, as a type, and such a consoling promise and hope 
of what was reserved to the people of God, and through the 
same to all the nations of the earth. 

" The sacrifices of the Old Testament are typical, and 



APPENDIX. 519 

according to their peculiar character, all are sacrifices of 
thanksgiving, with the exception of that great and awful sac- 
rifice of propitiation or atonement, which in its typical char- 
acter is so clearly described and explained in the Epistle to 
the Hebrews. Christ was the real victim of propitiation, 
his death the only all-satisfactory sacrifice of atonement." — 
Bunserts Hippolytus, ii. 200-202. 



Note F. — THE EPISTLE TO DIOGNETUS. 

This fragment of Christian literature is published some- 
times in the works of Justin Martyr, and sometimes in those 
of the apostolical fathers. Some ascribe it to Justin Martyr, 
and others to an unknown author, who lived about the same 
time with Justin, (the middle of the second century,) or perhaps 
earlier. This is the opinion of Neander, who says "that the 
Christian simplicity which reigns in the letter bespeaks its 
high antiquity, which is further supported by this circumstance, 
that the author classes Judaism and heathenism together, 
and does not appear to deduce the Jewish cultus from a 
divine origin ; and yet there is nothing properly Gnostic in 
the treatise — a phenomenon which "could only exist in a 
very early age." Semisch, who has written learnedly on 
the life and times of Justin Martyr, concurs in this opinion. 
So also does Hefele, who has published the letter in his 
edition of the Patres Apostolici. Tzschirner (Fall des Hei- 
denthums) says, "that, in all probability, it was written in the 
days of Justin, as it has been ascribed to him, and does not 
contain any thing which can with propriety be referred to a 
later age. Its tone of elevated piety, and the picture which 
it gives of the Christians, as a persecuted yet widely-spread 
community, justify us in assuming that it belonged to an age 
when the new faith had begun to raise its voice with greater 
boldness, and to make a more marked progress." 



520 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

THE EPISTLE TO DIOGNETUS. 

I observe, excellent Diognetus, that you earnestly desire 
to be informed respecting the religion of the Christians, 
and are particularly careful to ascertain what God they 
trust, and what may be their form of worship ; for while they 
contemn the world and despise death,, they deny the gods 
of the Greek, and disregard the religion of the Jew, and 
manifest a tender affection for each other. What, then, is 
this new sect or institution ; and why has it made its ap- 
pearance now, and not before ? To these questions, highly 
commendable on your part, it shall be my happiness to in- 
quire ; beseeching God, who bestows the faculties of speech 
and understanding, to grant that my reply may be a benefit 
to you, and that you may never have occasion to reject the 
instructions received. 

Come, then, after having freed your mind from prepos- 
sessions, and the force of delusive habit, and becoming, as 
it were, an entirely new man about to listen, by your own 
confession, to a new doctrine, discern the true character of 
your acknowledged gods. Is not one of them, like the stone, 
trodden under foot ; another of brass, fit only to be wrought 
into vessels for common use ; another of wood, ready to 
decay ; another of silver, which one must guard lest it be 
stolen ; and another of clay, not superior to that used for the 
vilest purposes ? Are they not all of perishable materials, 
and are they not forged by means of iron and fire ? Is not 
one of them the work of the stonecutter, another of the 
brazier, another of the silversmith, another of the potter ? 
By such artificial skill they were moulded into their present 
shape, previous to which they might be exchanged for each 
other ; and even now may they not be thus exchanged ? 
Nay, could not those very gods be changed into vessels ? 
Are they not all deaf, and dumb, and blind ? Are they not 
lifeless, insensible, and immovable ? Are they not all liable 
to decay ? May they not all be destroyed ? Yet such you 



APPENDIX. 521 

call gods, adoring and serving them, and so becoming alto- 
gether like them. For this reason you hate Christians, be- 
cause they refuse to worship such gods. After all, do you 
not, even while you maintain their divinity, treat them with 
yet greater contempt? Do you not contemn and wrong 
them more ? Those of stone and earth you leave unguarded ; 
while those of gold and silver you watch by day, and slant 
up by night, lest they should be stolen. You rather punish 
than honor them by your services, if you suppose them en- 
dowed with sense ; if not, you convict them of it, by wor- 
shipping them with blood } and the smoke of burning fat. 
Who of you would allow this to be done to himself? In- 
deed, no rational man would voluntarily endure the infliction. 
But a stone allows it, because it is without sense. Thus 
you yourselves convict your gods of their senselessness. 
From all such bondage Christians are free, of which I might 
speak at greater length ; but it is unnecessary to enlarge. 

I presume you wish to know the difference between the 
worship of Christians and that of the Jews. Although the 
latter may be free from the idolatry of which I have spoken, 
and worship only one God, regarding him as the sole Ruler 
of the universe, yet they greatly err when they pay their 
worship even to him with heathenish conceptions. The Greek 
shows his folly by offering sacrifices to dumb idols ; but the 
Jew may well deem it equally irrational and impious to 
present his sacrifices to the Deity, as if he needed them. 
For the Creator of heaven and earth and all they contain, 
and from whom we derive all our blessings, cannot need 
from any of his creatures what he has himself given to 
those who imagine they give to him. Those who offer to him 
sacrifices, blood offerings, fat offerings, and burnt offerings, 
supposing that by such means they do him honor, vainly 
bestowing gifts upon him who needs them not, differ little, in 
my opinion, from those who exhibit the same devotion to 
senseless idols, unconscious of the homage paid them. 
44* 



522 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

I need not inform you of the scrupulousness of the Jews 
respecting meats, their observance of fasts, new moons, and 
Sabbaths, or their boasted practice of circumcision. These . 
things are too ridiculous to be worthy of notice. For can 
it be right to accept as good some of the things created by 
the Deity for the use of man, and reject others as bad or 
superfluous ? Is it not wicked falsely to accuse God of 
having forbidden the doing of good on the Sabbath day ? 
Is it not despicable to boast of the mutilation of the flesh, 
as a mark of the special favor and choice of the Almighty ? 
Who does not regard watching the stars, and the changes 
of the seasons, and the appropriation of some to festivity 
and others to mourning, with the superstitious observance 
of months and days, as a stronger proof of folly than of 
piety ? 

Doubtless you have sufficiently learned that Christians 
abstain from the common vanity, boasting, and pretension of 
the Jews. But the secret (iivottyiov) of their peculiar religion 
you cannot hope to be taught by any man. For Christians 
are not distinguished from other men by their place of resi- 
dence, their language, or their manners, for they do not dwell 
in separate cities, use any peculiar kind of speech, or follow 
any unusual mode of life. They propose no mysterious 
system devised by man, nor any human dogma whatever. 
They live in Greek or foreign cities, each where his lot is 
cast, and in matters of food, clothing, and the like, comply 
with the customs of the place. And yet they exhibit a life 
and conversation of wonderful paradoxes. They inhabit their 
native land, but only as sojourners. They take a part in all 
things as citizens, but endure all things as foreigners ; every 
foreign country is to them a native land, and every native 
country a foreign land. They marry like others, and rear 
children, but never expose their offspring. They have all 
things in common, but rigidly observe their marriage vows. 
They live in the flesh, but not after the flesh. They pass 



APPENDIX. 523 

their time on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They 
obey the existing laws, but in their lives transcend all 
laws. They love all, and are persecuted by all. They live 
unknown, and are condemned to death. They are skin, and 
behold they live ; though poor, they make many rich ; in 
want of every thing, they have abundance ; in dishonor, they 
are crowned with glory ; when defamed, they are vindicated ; 
when cursed, they bless ; for injury, they return kindness ; 
for well doing, they are punished as evil doers ; persecuted 
to death, they rejoice as being made alive. They are treated 
by the Jews as barbarians and foes, and by the Greeks are 
persecuted ; but their bitterest enemies can assign no reason 
for hating them. In a word, what the soul is to the body, 
that Christians are in the world. As the soul is diffused 
through the whole body, so are these Christians scattered 
through all the cities of the world. The soul, indeed, occu- 
pies the body as its dwelling, but is not of the body ; so 
Christians dwell in the world, but they are not of the world. 
The soul lodges unseen in the body ; so Christians are 
known as existing in the world, but their devotion to God is 
unseen, unknown. The flesh hates and contends against the 
soul, though the soul injures not the flesh, but simply hinders 
it from indulging its pleasures. So the world hates Chris- 
tians, because they oppose the pleasures of the world. The 
soul loves the body even when it opposes it ; so Christians 
love those by whom they are hated. The soul sustains the 
body in which it is detained ; so Christians preserve the 
world in which they are imprisoned. The soul, itself im- 
mortal, occupies this perishable tabernacle. So Christians 
inhabit these dying bodies, looking forward to the everlasting 
felicity of heaven. The soul, checked and impaired by sense, 
only triumphs the more ; so the Christians, refined and disci- 
plined by persecution, only increase the more in numbers 
and in elevation of character. God has appointed them to 
this important post, which they dare not and cannot forsake. 



524 ciirist ix history. 

For, as I have already stated, it is no earth-born invention 
which has been committed to them. It is no mortal wisdom 
which they so sedulously guard ; no human mysteries which 
have been intrusted to their keeping. The almighty and 
invisible God himself imparts from heaven, and establishes 
in men's hearts the truth and the holy and incomprehensible 
Word. His messenger to men is not, as some might imagine, 
any servant of his, angel or potentate, intrusted with divine or 
earthly power. But he has sent the Creator and Governor of 
all things, who framed the heavens, and set bounds to the sea 
that it cannot pass ; to whom all things are subject, the 
heavens and all that are therein, the earth, the sea, and all 
that in them is, fire, air, and the intermediate spaces of 
immensity. This Being he sent to man. And was this 
done, as some might imagine, to strike them with fear, or op- 
press them by tyranny ? So far from this being the case, he 
sent him in mercy and love, like a king sending his son — 
himself a king. He sent him to man as their Savior, whose 
lips should speak words of gentleness, and not threats of vio- 
lence, for violence is not in God. In mercy, he has sent 
him to fulfil the kind offices of invitation and of grace, not 
to sit in judgment ; though he will yet commission him to 
go forth in judgment, and who shall then be able to abide 
his coming ! Do you not see that those who are exposed to 
w T ild beasts are not overcome, but only increase the more, 
the more they are persecuted ? This is not the work of man, 
but of God, and an evident token of his coming. 

How miserable the condition of men before the advent of 
Christ! How could men form any just conception of God 
before his coming ? Or do you confide in the vain and 
frivolous speculations of the philosophers, some of whom de- 
clare that fire is God, (calling that God which they are 
themselves rapidly approaching ;) and others water, ami others 
again some of the other elements created by God ? Even 
supposing any one of these opinions admissible, God might. 



APPENDIX. 525 

with equal truth, be predicated of every created thing. But 
.hey are all the lying wonders and impostures of jugglers. 
None of these ever saw God, or had any knowledge of him. 
But he has revealed himself to faith, by which alone God is 
seen. For the supreme Creator and Governor of all things 
ever was, and is, and will be merciful and gracious, true, 
faithful, and long suffering. He alone is good. He formed 
a great and unutterable purpose, known only to his Son. 
Wrapped in secrecy, he seemed to neglect us. But when, 
through his beloved Son, he began to reveal the things he 
had from the beginning prepared for us, he unfolded to us 
the whole, giving us all things freely to know and enjoy. 

In time past God suffered us to be carried away by our 
own passions ; not that he delighted in our sins, but be- 
cause he bore with them ; not approving of our unrighteous- 
ness, but thereby convincing us of guilt, and preparing us 
for the reception of his grace. By discovering our guilt 
and inability, he would thus fit us joyfully to enter the king- 
dom and become partakers of his grace. But when the 
measure of our sins was filled, and nothing but punishment 
and death awaited us as our recompense, when the time 
came for the disclosure of the divine mercy, and power, and 
exceeding love for mankind, then he hated us not, nor cast us 
off, nor remembered against us our iniquities ; but he was 
slow to anger, and took upon himself our sins. He gave his 
Son a ransom for us, the Holy One for the unholy, the sinless 
for the sinful, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for 
the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. What but his 
righteousness can cover {hide) our sins ? And by whom, in 
our guilt, can we be justified, but by the Son of God ? O the 
unsearchable grace! O the unexpected blessing! that the 
sins of many should be cancelled by one act of sacrifice, 
that many should be justified by the righteousness of one ! 
Having shown us the impossibility of obtaining salvation 
ourselves, and then having revealed an all-sufficient Savior, 



526 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

he now calls for our faith and confidence in him as our sup- 
porter, teacher, physician, and counsellor, as our light, glory, 
strength, and salvation, that we should be careful for nothing 
pertaining to the present life. 

Were you, Diognetus, only to receive this faith, then you 
should know God as a Father. For God has loved us men, 
for whose benefit he created the world, upon whom he be- 
stowed reason and intelligence, permitting us alone to aspire 
to him. He formed us in his own image, and sent us his 
only-begotten Sv.n, and has promised, to those that love him, 
a heavenly kingdom When you have known this, with what 
delight will you be filled ! How will you love him who 
first loved you ! And loving him, you will become an imi- 
tator of his goodness. Wonder not that man can become 
like unto God. By the grace of God, this is attainable. To 
acquire authority over others, to gratify ambition and oppress 
the poor, that is not happiness. One cannot thus imitate 
God ; such things are abhorrent to his majesty. But he who 
loves, who bears his neighbor's burden, who helps those 
beneath him, and imparts his goods to the poor, becomes, so 
to speak, a god to those he benefits. Such a one is an imi- 
tator of God. Then, while yet on earth, you will behold Him 
that reigns in heaven. Then shall you begin to declare the 
mysteries of God. Then shall you admire and love those 
who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. Then shall you 
rebuke the folly of the world, while you have yourself 
entered into the enjoyment of the true heavenly life. You 
will despise the horrors of death itself, while you fear that 
eternal death, reserved for those who are condemned to final 
and irrevocable destruction. 

I am not here treating of matters unknown to me, or in- 
consistent with reason ; but hiving been a disciple of 
the apostles, I am become a teacher of the Gentiles. The 
things delivered unto me I minister to those who are sin- 
cere disciples of the truth. For who, that is rightly instructed 



APPENDIX. 527 

in divine knowledge, does not desire fo learn thoroughly what 
was communicated clearly by the Word (Aoyog) to the disci- 
ples whom the Word enlightened, conversing freely with 
them ; not comprehended by unbelievers, but explained to the 
disciples ? Those accounted faithful have known the myste- 
ries of the Father. For this cause, he sent the Word, that he 
might be manifested in the world. He sent the Word, who, 
despised by his own people, was preached by apostles, and 
was believed by the Gentiles ; who was from the begin- 
ning, yet appeared and was found a new being on the earth, 
and for the same reason is ever new born in the hearts of 
believers. By him the church is enriched ; through him grace 
abounds in the saints, conferring understanding, unfolding 
mysteries, discovering the future, conferring joy upon the 
faithful, and even bestowing it upon them that seek to 
be obedient to the rules of faith and heavenly wisdom. 
Then is celebrated the dignity of the law, the inspiration 
of the prophets is acknowledged, the faith of the gospel is 
confirmed, the teaching of the epistles is defended, and the 
grace and joy of the church made to abound. If you do not 
grieve this grace, you shall know the communication of the 
Word, when and by whom he wills. For whatever we are 
commanded by the will of the controlling Word to utter, 
that we are impelled to utter, and share with you the things 
revealed, in labor and in love. 

When you have read and studied these with diligence, 
you will find what God bestows upon those who sincerely 
love him, who become a delightful paradise, within each of 
which springs up a beautiful and luxuriant tree, adorned 
with various fruits ; for here are planted the tree of knowl- 
edge and the tree of life. It is not knowledge, but disobe- 
dience that destroys. So that it is not without significance, 
that the Scriptures declare that God, in the beginning, planted 
the tree of life in the midst of paradise, revealing life through 
knowledge; which our first parents not using lawfully, were 



528 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

despoiled of their heritage through the wiles of the serpent, 
With this view were the trees planted near each other, 
because without knowledge there is no life, and no real 
knowledge without true life. The apostle, perceiving this, 
and wishing to condemn the knowledge which exists without 
obedience unto life, declares that knowledge purTeth up, but 
love buildeth up. Whoever thinks it possible to attain true 
knowledge without obedience and life, is deceived by the 
serpent. But whoever, with love and reverence, has knowl- 
edge, and seeks life, plants a life-giving fruit. May you 
have the knowledge of the heart. May your life be the true 
word of God inwardly received. From the tree of knowledge 
growing up within you, you will always gather such fruits 
as are desired in the presence of God, which the serpent 
never troubles. Then Eve is not corrupted, but a virgin soul 
believes ; salvation is displayed, the apostles are made wise ; 
the feast of the Lord proceeds ; the praising multitudes 
'gather together, in beautiful order, praising the Lord; and 
the Word, instructing saints, rejoices, through whom God the 
Father is glorified. To him be glory forever. Amen. 

Note G. — TESTIMONIES RESPECTING THE ORGAN- 
IZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF THE PRIMI- 
TIVE CHURCH. 

" The constitution of the Christian church, like the politi- 
cal constitution of the Germanic races, rested upon the 
idea of a community freely submitting to a divine order of 
society which calls mankind to freedom, and makes man 
free. Christianity was a free, and in some sense a secret, 
association. At a time when Egypt was suffering under the 
most iron despotism, and when the Aramaic races of Asia 
were in a state of the most revolting religious and moral 
debasement, he formed a free people, and a people of God, 
by organizing it at first as a secret religious community. 



APPENDIX. 023 

It was by this agency he threw off the bondage of an em- 
pire, nrjhty both in Africa and Asia, and united the tribes 
of Israel, who were dissevered and trodden under foot, into 
a nation of universal historical importance. Jesus and his 
disciples formed a secret society first out of the children of 
that nation, at the last turning-point of its history, when sub- 
jected to the most cruel despotism of republican emperors, 
and amid the despair of a highly-civilized but dissolute 
world. This society was based upon the freedom of its 
members from the Levitical law, on their equality as children 
of God, on their brotherhood as men. It was this society, 
established upon this freedom, this equality, and this frater- 
nity, which dissolved the greatest empire in the world, and 
led to the forming of a vast association, embracing the 
whole human family throughout the world-wide dominions of 
Rome. . . . 

" Every town congregation of ancient Christianity, the 
constitution of which we have to delineate, was a church. 
The constitution of that church was a congregational con- 
stitution. In St. Paul's Epistles, in the writings of Clemens 
Romanus, of Ignatius and of Polycarp, the congregation 
is the highest organ of the spirit as well as power of the 
church. It is the body of Christ, the embodiment of the 
person of Jesus of Nazareth, in the society which was 
founded by him and through faith in him. This congre- 
gation was governed and directed by a council of elders, 
which congregational council, at a later period, was presided 
over, in most churches, by a governing overseer, the bishop. 
But the ultimate decision, in important emergencies, rented 
with the whole congregation. The bishop and elders were 
its superintending members ; its guides, but not its masters. 

"In most of the customs and ordinances transmitted to us, 
we find this active interference on the part of the congrega- 
tion considerably weakened. Already a hierarchy has been 
established. Nevertheless the congregation elects its bishop, 
45 



530 CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

and invites the bishops of the neighboring localities to in- 
stitute him into his office with prayer and the imposition of 
hands. If the congregation is still to be formed, the 
bishop names the elders, three at least, and inducts them 
with prayer and a benediction. They form with him the 
congregational council. The bishop elects at least one 
deacon, as his assistant, and appoints widows and young 
women to take care, both spiritually and bodily, of the or- 
phans, the sick, and the poor. If the bishopric of a con- 
gregation, already formed, become vacant, the form of epis- 
copal election remains the same : the clergy elect with the 
people, &c. . . . 

" The hypothesis, therefore, of the Presbyterian divines 
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centurias, that the bishop, 
as the first of his peers, (primus inter pares,) sprang from the 
elders of the congregation, falls to the ground as unhistorical. 
But their idea of elders, as both an officiating and ruling 
body, is quite correct. The ancient church knows no more 
of a single presbyter than of clerical government and elec- 
tion. It w*as only in very small places, manors, (villtz,) that 
the collegiate form was not adopted. There, a single clergy- 
man, who, according to the use of the word bishop in the 
Epistles of St. Peter and St. Paul, was called a country 
bishop, (chorepiscopus, i. e., country curate,) managed the 
small community in. its ordinary emergencies. 

"The Lutheran view, again, especially that of the Ger- 
man Lutherans, according to which the clergy formed the 
order of teachers in the ancient church, is entirely erroneous. 
The church was a government, and the bishops and elders 
were magistrate's ; they directed the congregation, but with- 
out legislative power. Teaching and praying were open to 
every one in the church of the apostles : every man acting 
as a priest, and anointed of the Lord. . . . 

"The nature of things, however, led, as early as the 
second century, to collective congregations. The small 



APFEJfPIX. 531 

village communities in the vicinity of the town, already, to a 
c> rtain extent, formed such an association with those of the 
city. This, however, was only the first, and an imperfect 
arrangement; because the integral parts, with the exception 
of the town, had no complete organization. The principal 
towns in the then existing provinces of the empire (and all 
the apostolic Epistles are addressed to these) formed central 
points for the province or island, as mother towns or metrop- 
olises. The bishops assembled then in synod. Believers 
had the liberty of attending the sittings, and hearing their 
discussions. The first bishop, in age or importance, pre- 
sided. 

" As to Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, however, the 
bishops had, in early times incorporated with them a m 
considerable portion of the province. . . . 

"The churches, which grouped themselves around a great 
church, stood in an organized, but strictly hierarchical con- 
nection with it. It was natural that common interests should 
be treated of in common, and decided upon, under the presi- 
dency of the bishop of the metropolis. The other bishops 
were joint elders in this council. They formed, with the 
parish clergy of the capital, the presbytery of the chief 
bishop. This is the origin of the college of cardinals. 

"This second stage in the development of the church's 
constitution is, therefore, already infected with the decay of 
the times. There were no longer then any free nations, 
but only municipal unions. The ancient world did not 
know a free nation beyond the municipal limits, and there- 
fore had no representative government. Christianity pre- 
pared this by clerical senates and synods ; it could not create 
nations. The congregation was free, and her life the only 
living and free life of the age. But this free element in the 
Christian community remains within the narrow limits of the 
municipal constitution; all beyond that is unfree, as regards 
the congregation. Independent and autonomic in their paro< 



CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

chial concerns, the congregations are excluded from the 
general church affairs^ . . . 

w A century after Hippolytus, Christianity became, under 
Constantihe, from a persecuted sect, a recognized religion, 
and, with the passing exception of Julian, the religion of the 
rulers and of the imperial army by which they were governed. 

" Even before the end of the fourth century, it was the 
dominant religion, and the Catholic church enjoyed exclusive 
privileges. From the time of Theodosius downwards, the 
emperors carried out a system of persecution, and the bishops 
rivalled them in an almost apocalyptic manner. Christianity 
was from the very beginning admitted into the empire as an 
episcopal and catholic corporation, which centred more and 
more round the great imperial cities of Rome, (and New 
Rome,) Alexandria, and Antioch. The protector considered 
the bishops partly in the light of helpmeets, and partly in 
the light of suhjects ; and this is the point of a convivial 
joke of the Emperor Constantine, which has been immortal- 
ized by Eusebius, comparing himself with the bishops as an 
episcopus (overseer) of the external affairs of the state. 
His system was despotic monarchy ; so was theirs. It is just 
as rational to build upon this a right of supremacy, as it is to 
establish the theory of passive obedience, and the right di- 
vine of absolute princes, by referring to Christian govern- 
ment the words of the gospel and apostles, meant for Nero 
and Neronian prefects. Constantine was the first, but already 
a complete Byzantine despot, and would have remained so, 
had he survived his baptism. The first result of the protec- 
torate of the Christian emperors, was that in their codes 
they converted church ordinances (that about baptism, for 
instance) into statute laws. . . . Evangelical and reli- 
gious freedom then received its death blow from the same 
police crutch which was given it for its support." — Bunsertx 
H'ppoJijtvs. 

li At first the church was governed according to republi- 



APPENDIX. 535 

can forms ; but these disappeared in proportion as the new 
faith attained the mastery. Gradually the clergy separated 
themselves altogether from the laity. 

" It appears to me that this was the result of a certain inter- 
nal necessity. The rise of Christianity involved the libera- 
tion of religion from all political elements. From this fol- 
lowed the growth of a distinct ecclesiastical class, with a 
peculiar constitution. In this separation of the church from 
the state consist?, perhaps, the greatest, the most pervading 
and influential peculiarity of all Christian times. The spirit- 
ual and secular powers may come into near contact, may 
even stand in the closest community, but they can be thor- 
oughly incorporated only at rare conjunctures, and for a short 
period. Their mutual relation, their position with regard to 
each other, form, from this time forward, one of the most 
important considerations in all history. 

" The constitution of the ecclesiastical body was necessa- 
rily formed upon the model of that of the empire, The 
hierarchy of bishops, metropolitan patriarchs, arose, corre- 
sponding to the graduated ranks of the civil administration. 
Ere long, the Roman bishops assumed preeminency above 
all others. The pretence that primates, whose supremacy 
was acknowledged by east and west, existed in the first 
centuries of the church, is, indeed, utterly groundless ; but 
it is unquestionable that they soon acquired a consideration 
which raised them above all ecclesiastical authorities. Many 
things contributed to secure this to them. 

" If the importance of every provincial capital conferred on 
its bishop a peculiar weight and dignity, how much more 
must this have been the case in the ancient capital of that 
vast empire, to which it had given its name ! Rome was 
one of the most eminent apostolical seats ; here the greatest 
number of martyrs had perished ; during the persecution, 
the bishops of Rome had displayed extraordinary firmness 
and courage; their succession had often been rather to mar 
45* 



53-4 CHRIST IN IIISTOKY. 

tyrdom and death than to office. Bnt now, independent of 
se < ideralions, the emperor found it expedient to favoi 
the rise of a great patriarchal authority. In a law which 
became decisive for the supremacy of Christianity, Theodo- 
sius the Great ordains that ail nations who were subjects to 
his grace should receive the faith which had been delivered 
by St. Peter to the Romans. Valentinian III. forbade the 
bishops, both in Gaul and in the other provinces, to depart 
from ancient usages without the approbation of the venera- 
ble man, the pope of the holy city. From this time the 
power of the Roman bishops grew up under the protection of 
the emperor himself." — Leopold Ranke, History of the Popes, 

" In its primitive state, in its childhood, Christian society 
presents itself before us as a simple association of men pos- 
sessing the same faith, the same sentiments and opinions. 
The first Christians met to enjoy together their common 
emotions, their common religious convictions. At this time 
we find no settled form of doctrine, no settled rules, of disci- 
pline, no body of magistrates. 

u Still it is perfectly obvious that no society, however young, 
however feebly held together, can exist without some moral 
power, which animates and guides it ; and thus, in the vari- 
ous Christian congregations, there were men who preached, 
who taught, who morally governed the congregation. Still 
l ] iere was no settled magistrate, no discipline ; a simple as- 
sociation of believers in a common faith, with common senti- 
ments and feelings, was the first condition of Christian society. 

" But the moment this society began to advance, and 
almost at its birth, (for we find traces of them in the earliest 
documents,) there gradually began to be moulded a form of 
doctrine, rules of discipline, a body of magistrates, of magis- 
trates called nosaiSvTFQOi, or elders, who afterwards became 
riests ; etiIo-xo.ioil, inspectors or overseers, who became 
bishops ; and of diuxovoi, or deacons, whose office was the 
care of the poor, and the distribution of alms. 

'• It is almost impossible to determine the precise func- 



APPENDIX. 535 

tions of these magistrates ; the line of demarcation was 
probably very vague and wavering ; yet here was the embryc 
of institutions. Still, however, there was one prevailing 
character in this sacred epoch ; it was, that the power, the 
authority, the preponderating influence still remained in the 
hands of the general body of believers. It was they who 
decided in the election of magistrates, as well as in the 
adoption of rules of discipline and doctrine. No separation 
had as yet taken place between the Christian government 
and the Christian believers, who exercised the principal in- 
fluence in the society. 

" In the third period, all this was entirely changed. The 
clergy were separated from the people, and now formed a 
distinct body, with its own wealth, its own jurisdiction, its 
own constitution ; in a word, it had its own government, and 
formed a complete society of itself — a society, too, provided 
with all the means of existence, independently of the society 
to which it applied itself, and over which it extended its in- 
fluence. This was the third state of the Christian church, 
and in this state it existed at the opening of the fifth century. 
The government was not yet completely separated from the 
people ; for no such government as yet existed, and less so 
in religious matters than in any other; but as respects the 
relation between the clergy and Christians in general, it was 
the clergy who governed, and governed almost without con- 
trol." — Gui zot, History of Civilization. 

"The societies which were instituted in the cities'of the 
Roman empire were connected only by the ties of faith and 
charity. Independence and equality formed the basis of their 
internal constitution." — Gibbon, Decline and Fall, fyc. ch. xv. 

To these testimonies from distinguished laymen we might 
add the testimonies of nearly all, and especially the more 
eminent, ecclesiastical historians and writers upon church his- 
tory. See, for example, Mosheim, De Rebus Christianorum, 
Sa3c. i. Sect. 48. In his ecclesiastical history he uses 
similar language : " Through the greater part of this century 



536 CIIUIST IX HISTORY. 

[the second] the churches were as yet self-governed ; nor were 
they united in any alliance or confederation. Each society was 
a sort of little state, governing by its own laws — laws either 
introduced or approved by the people." — Century ii. p. 2. 

See also Augusti, Hist. Eccles. Epit, § 21. "The form 
of the Christian republic, as we detect it in the first and 
second centuries, may be called, in a sense, democratic, be- 
cause with the entire assembly of the people lay the right 
and power of choosing the presiding officers, teachers and 
ministers. To the assembly, (sxxlq&la, church,) in the stricter 
sense, belonged only the believers, (niaiol,) those Christians who 
partook of the sacraments," &c. 

Compare Dr. George Campbell's Lectures on Church His- 
tory, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Lectures. Gieseler's 
Ch. Hist., vol. i. § 30 and § 50. Neander's Planting and 
Training of the Church, as also his Church History, (Torrey's 
Trans.,) vol. i. p. 179, ei seq, Whately's Essays on the King- 
dom of Christ, p. 138, et seq., 3d ed. Barrow on the Pope's 
Supremacy, Works, vol. vii. p. 302. To these correspond the 
views of Guericke, Bretschneider, Hase, M. J. Matter, and 
others of equal eminence as theologians and church historians. 



Note H. — THE MIRACLE OF THE LAST FIFTEEN 
HUNDRED YEARS. 

" Taking this high ground, that Christianity is based upon 
that which is eternally God's own, (reason and conscience,) 
and, therefore, as indestructible and as invincible as he is 
himself, I am truly thankful to find that there is visible and 
traceable, in the history of Christianity, the overruling power 
of the divine Spirit. This Spirit I believe to be infused into 
the universality of tbe human conscience, which is identical 
with the God-fearing and Cod-loving reason, and whic h 
answers, in those sublime regions, to what, in things con- 
nected with the visible world, is called common sense. This 



APPENDIX. 537 

divine power of reason and conscience, I find to have been 
so great, that it has overruled all the imperfections and errors, 
both of ancient communities and formularies. Any Protes- 
tant Christian, who, taking a Protestant view of the world's 
history, and leading a Christian life, goes naturally and con- 
scientiously through the history of Christianity, can feel 
himself in perfect communion with the churches of the east 
and west, and see the working of the Spirit in the Scholastic, 
and even in Tridentine definitions, if he will only interpret 
the Scriptures honestly, and according to the general rules 
of interpretation ; if he will only take the writings of the 
fathers, according to the spirit, as a limited part of the de- 
velopment of Christianity, and judge their speculations, not 
as aggressive dogmatism, but as philosophical explanations, 
given in self-defence ; and, finally, if he consider the de- 
crees and formularies of these churches, not in the light of 
his own system, but as they were understood by the mem- 
bers of those churches." — Hippolytus, i. 175, 176. 

" If there is any manifest proof of a divine ordinance 
[government ?] of human destinies, it is the history of the 
church. There were certainly many circumstances which 
wonderfully facilitated the spreading and the maintenance 
of Christianity. The ancient nationalities were worn out. 
Judaism had merged into Rabbinism ; and the destruction 
of Jerusalem had extinguished the sanctuary, with which, 
since Ezra, the Jews had been identified. Heathenism had 
also lost its natural basis and local faith ; the unbelief of 
the Romans was grosser than that of the Greeks ; so was 
their remaining superstition. The human mind was yearn- 
ing after some high and restoring union and fusion of the 
different nationalities ; and the idea of a common truth, born 
out of Christianity, was the fulfilment of the world's deepest 
longings. But, then, look at the difficulties. First, then, 
was the decaying civilization of an effete world ; and, on the 
other side, the barbarism of a fresh and noble, but wholly 
undeveloped, conquering race. There was no nation, no na 



538 CHRIST IN 1IIST011I. 

tional life, the only sound supporters of a pure and hallow- 
ing 1 religion: there was a general decay in literature, in 
learning, in philosophy ; there was a universal despair as to 
the destinies of mankind. The world seemed to be actually 
governed, not by God, but by the devil. Then look to the 
inward difficulties. There was a very imperfect representa- 
tion of the Christian church in all the councils, to begin 
with that of Nice — a system excluding any action of the 
laity, which means the Christian people, and representing 
only a part even of the clergy. Then there were all the 
intrigues of Byzantine emperors and empresses, imperial 
aid-de-camps, and palace eunuchs. There were the pas- 
sions and ambitions of an uncontrolled clergy. There was 
the odium theologicum of the doctors. Finally, there was 
the rage of the ruling powers of the age for realizing Chris- 
tianity, not. in social institutions, not in the duties and works 
of love, but almost exclusively in hierarchical discipline, and 
for making the sole test of communion with Christ and God, 
consist in certain speculative formularies, which necessarily 
brought their antagonistic principles, and, therefore, schism 
and persecution, along with them. This rage was intimately 
connected with the despair of the human mind, and with the 
death of all nations, and of all national Hfe. Debarred from 
such an existence, the end for which man was created, 
(because the only means of realizing God's purpose with 
the world,) having no fatherland to cling to, no national 
institutions to defend, all the leading Christian minds were 
seized with the appalling idea that this world was drawing to 
its end, and shared, so far, the despairing feelings of the rest 
of mankind. They looked to another world with faith ; but 
they did not feel a vocation to make this world itself, with 
its social and national institutions, the object of their Chris- 
tian thoughts and efforts. Now, the great miracle of the 
history of the last fifteen hundred years is that the world 
was renewed, notwithstanding all this, and that the funda- 
mental records and ideas of Christianity have been saved, 



APPENDIX. T)3[) 

and although very imperfectly developed, and preserved fot 
future development, in the whole of Christendom, as it ex- 
ists at present in the east and west." -— i. 177, J 78. 



Note I. — ANSELM AND AQUINAS. 

"The true metaphysician of this period is St. Anselm, 
bom at Aosta, in Piedmont, Prior of Abbe and Bee, in 
Normandy, and at his death Archbishop of Canterbury. 
[Born 1034, died 1109.] To him was given the appellation 
of the second Augustine. Among his numerous works are 
two, the titles of which I will at least mention, for the titles 
indicate their spirit, and reveal, moreover, a remarkable 
progress. One is a monologue, wherein St. Anselm sup- 
poses an ignorant man who is seeking truth by force of his 
reason only — a very bold fiction for the eleventh century, 
and the antecedent to the Meditations : [Cousin here refers 
to the 'Meditations' of Des Cartes, the father of mental 
philosophy in modern times] it is entitled Moiwlogium, sen 
Exemplum medilandi de Ratione Fldei ; Monologue or example 
of the manner in which one may account for his faith. The 
second work is called Proslogium, seu Fides qu&rens Intel- 
ledum; Allocution, or the faith which tries to demonstrate 
itself. In the first work, St. Anselm does not suppose him- 
self in possession of the truth ; he is seeking it : in the second, 
he supposes himself in possession of the truth, and he tries to 
demonstrate < The name of St. Anselm is attached to the ar- 
gument, wine;, craws from the idea of an absolute maximum 
of greatness, ot oeauty, of goodness, the demonstration of tin 
existence of its object, which can be only God. Without cit- 
ing St. Anselm, whom he did not probably know, Des Cartes 
has produced the same argument, &c. . . . Leibnitz, in 
taking up the Cartesian argument, refers it to St. Anselm: 
but he was able to go farther back ; he had found it in the 
genius of Christian idealism, and it was worthy of St. Anselm, 



CHRIST IN HISTORY. 

of Des Cartes, and of Leibnitz, to draw it from that source 
and diffuse it through mo Jem philosophy.'" — Cousin, Hist, of 
Mod. Philosophy, Wight's trans., vol. ii. p. 2\. 

'• St. Thomas Aquinas was born rich, and of an illustrious 
family, [at Aquino, near Naples, in T225,] who naturally 
wished to grVe him a good position in the world. He refused 
it, and entered quite early into the Order of the Dominicans, 
in order that he might give himself wholly to philosophy. 
He carried into his order the same disinterestedness ; he 
constantly refused all dignities, and would consent to be 
only a professor, and was called Doctor Angelicas, the Angel 
of the School. He understood the importance of the Arabic 
and Greek philosophers. He greatly encouraged the transla- 
tion of their works, and Europe is infinitely indebted for all 
the translations he caused to be made. If Albert [Albert the 
Great, called Albert of Bollstadt] was more learned, and, 
above all, better acquainted with the natural sciences, St. 
Thomas was a better metaphysician, and especially a better 
moralist. He did not fall into asceticism as did his com- 
patriot, John of Fidanza, otherwise called St. Bonaventura, 
who nearly brought theology to mysticism, thereby obtaining 
the name of Doctor Seraphicus, the Seraphic Doctor. St. 
Thomas Aquinas remained faithful to the philosophic spirit. 
If he submitted reason to the rule of faith, he never miscon- 
ceived the extent and legitimate authority of our faculties. 
The masterwork of St. Thomas is the famous summation, 
Summa Theologirz, which is one of the greatest monuments 
of the human mind, in the middle age, and comprehends, 
with profound metaphysics, an entire system of morality, and 
even of politics, and that kind of politics, too, which is not at 
all servile. Among other things, you find in it a defence of 
the Jews, who were then persecuted, and were so serviceable 
not only to commerce, but to science. He could not dream 
of the civil equality of our days ; but as a Christian, he recom- 
mended humanity in regard to them, even as a matter of poli- 
cy. St. Thomas is particularly a great moralist." —Idem, p. 26 



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" A popular work, indispensable to the library of a student of English literature." — Dr. Way- 
land. 

" We hail with peculiar pleasure the appearance of this work." — North American Review. 

CHAMBERS' MISCELLANY OF USEFUL AND ENTERTAIN- 
ING*- KNOWLEDGE. Edited by William Chambers. With elegant Illustra- 
tive Engravings. Ten volumes. Cloth, $7.50 j cloth, gilt, $10.00 5 library sheep, $10.00. 

" It would be difficult to find any miscellany superior or even equal to it. It richly deserves the 
epithets ' useful and entertaining,' and I would recommend it very strongly, as extremely well 
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country." — Geo. B. Emerson, Esq. — Chairman Boston School Book Committee. 

CnAIklBEHS' EOMS BOOK; or, Pocket Miscellany, containing a Choice 
Selection of Interesting and Instructive Reading, for the Old and Young. Six volumes. 
16mo, cloth, $3.00 j library sheep, $4.00 j half calf, $6.00. 

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the School or Family Library, furnishing ample variety for every class of readers. 

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CHAMBERS' REPOSITORY OF INSTRUCTIVE AND AMUS- 
1173- PAPSSS. With Illustrations. A New Series, containing Original Articles. 
Two volumes. 16mo, cloth, $1.75. 

The Sams Wqrs, two volumes in one^ cloth, gilt hack, $1.50. (29) 



IMPORTANT WORKS. 

A TREATISE ON THE COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE 
ANIMAL KINGDOM. By Profs. C. Th. Von Sikbold and II. Stannics. 
Translated from the German, with Notes, Additions, &c. By Waldo I. Burnett, M. D., 
Boston. One elegant octavo volume, cloth, $3.00. 

This is believed to be incomparably the best and most complete work on the subject extant ; 
and its appearance in an English dress, with the additions of the American Translator, is every- 
where welcomed by men of science in this country. 

UNITED STATES EXPLORING- EXPEDITION; during the years 
1333, 1339, 1340, 1841, 1342, under Charles Wilkes, U. S. N. Vol. xu. 

Mollusca and Shells. By Augcstus A. Gould, M. D. Elegant quarto volume, cloth, 
$6.00. 

THE LANDING AT CAPE ANNE ; or, The Charter of the First Perma* 
next Colony on the Territory of the Massachusetts Company. Now discovered, 
and first published from the original manuscript, with an inquiry into its authority, 
and a History of the Colony, 1624 — 1623, Roger Conant, Governor. By J. Win- 
gate Thornton. 8vo, cloth, $1.50. 

G£f- " A rare contribution to the early history of New England." — Mercantile Journal. 

LAKE SUPERIOR ; Its Physical Character, Vegetation, and Animals. By L, 
Agassiz and others. One volume octavo, elegantly Illustrated, cloth, $3 50. 

THE HALLIG ; or, the Sheepfold in the Waters. A Tale of Humble Life on 
the Coast of Schleswig. Translated from the German of Biernatski, by Mrs. George P. 
Marsh. With a Biographical Sketch of the Author. 12mo, cloth, $1.00. 

As a revelation of an entire new phase in human society, this work strongly reminds the reader 
of Miss Bremer's tales, In originality and brilliancy of imagination, it is not inferior to those ; — 
its aim is far higher. 

THE CRUISE OE THE NORTH STAR; A Narrative of the Excursion 
made by Mr. Yanderbilt's Party in the Steam Yacht, in her Voyage to England, Russia, 
Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, Malta, Turkey, Madeira, &c. By Rev. John Overton 
Choules, B. B. With elegant Illustrations, &c. 12mo, cloth, gilt backs and sides, $1.50 } 
cloth, gilt, $2.00 ; Turkey, gilt, $3.00. 

PILGRIMAGE TO EGYPT; embracing a Diary of Explorations on the Nile, 
with Observations Illustrative of the Manners, Customs, and Institutions of the People, 
and of the present condition of the Antiquities and Ruins. By Hon. J. V. C. Smith, late 
Mayor of the City of Boston. With numerous elegant Engravings. 12mo, cloth, $1.25. 

^ODBTXC-A-IL. "W ORKS. 

COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OE WILLIAM COWPER; 
with a Life and Critical Notices of his Writings. Elegant Illustrations. 16mo, cloth, 
$1.00. 

POETICAL WORKS OE SIR WALTER SCOTT. Life and Illustra* 
Sons. 16mo, cloth, $1.00. 

MILT O IT'S POETICAL WORKS. With a Life and elegant Illustrations. 

16mo, cloth, $1.00. 

JKF* The above Poetical Works, by standard authors, are all of uniform size and style, printed 
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GUYOrS WORKS. VALUABLE MAPS. 

THE EARTH AND MAN; Lectures on Comparative Physical Geography, 
in its relation to the History of Mankind. By Arnold Qutot. A\ iLli Illustrations. 
12:iiO, cloth, $1.'25. 

Prof. Louis AGASSIS, of Harvard University, says : "It will not only render the study of 
geography morv. attractive, but actually show it in its true light." 
Hon. Gkokge S. Uillakd says: "The work is marked by learning, ability, and taste. His 

bold and comprehensive generalizations rest upon a careful foundation of facts." 

" Those who have been accustomed to regard Geography as a merely descriptive branch of learn- 
ing, dncr than the remainder biscuit after a voyage, will be delighted to rind this hitherto unat- 
tractive pursuit converted into a science, the principles of which are definite and the results con- 
clusive." — Xorth American Review. 

" The grand idea of the work is happily expressed by the author, where he calls it the geographi- 
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COMPARATIVE PHYSICAL AND HISTORICAL GEOGRA- 
PHY ; or, the Study of the Earth and Inhabitants. A Series of Graduated Courses, 
for the use of Schools. By Arnold Guyot. In preparation. 

GUYOT'S MURAL MAPS. A series of elegant Colored Maps, projected on a 
large scale for the Recitation Room, consisting of a Map of the World, North and South 
America, Geographical Elements, kc, exhibiting the Physical Phenomena of the Globe, 
By Professor Arnold Guyot, viz., 

Map of the World, mounted, $10.00. 

Map of North America, mounted, $9.00. 

Map of South Amkkica, mounted, $9.00. 

Map of Geographical Elements, mounted, $9.00. 

E~r= These elegant and entirely original Mural Maps are projected on a large scale, so that when 
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GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE UNITED STATES AND BRIT- 
ISH PROVINCES OP NORTH AMERICA. With an Explanatory 

Text, Geological Sections, and Plates of the Fossils which characterize the Formations. 
By Jules Marcou. Two volumes. Octavo, cloth, $3.00. 

GST" The Map is elegantly colored, and done up with linen cloth back, and folded in octavo form, 
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" The most complete Geological Map of the United States which has yet appeared. It is a work 
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with the map, a very complete, clear, and distinct outline of the geology of our country.'" — 
.' :yazine, N. Y. 

HALL'S GEOLOGICAL CHART ; Giving an Ideal Section of the Successive 
G t I »gical Formations, with an Actual Section from the Atlantic to the PaciHc Oceans. 
By Prof. James Hall, of Albany. Mounted, $9.00. 

A KEY TO GEOLOGICAL CHART. By Prof. James Hall. 13mo,25ct3. 

(31) 



VALUABLE TEXT-BOOKS. 

THE LECTURES OP SIB WILLIAM HAMILTON, BART,, late 
Protessor oi Logic and Metaphysics, University of Jbkliuburgli; embracing the Metafhysk 
cal and Logical Courses •, with Notes, i'roni Original Materials, and an Appendix, con- 
taining the Author's Latest Bevelopment of hid New Logical Theory. Edited by Rev. 
Henry Longuevillb Mansel, B. I)., Prof, of Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy in 
Magdalen College, Oxford, and John Veitce, M. A., of Edinburgh. In two royal octavo 
volumes, viz., 

I. Metaphysical Lectures (now ready). Royai octavo, cloth. 

II. Logical Lectures (in preparation). 

Etzp- G. & L., by a special arrangement with the family of the late Sir William Hamilton, are' 
the Authorized American Publishers of this distinguished author's matchless Lectures on Met- 
apiiysics axd Logic, and they are permitted to print the same from advance sheets furnished 
them by the English publishers. 

ME3MTAL PHILOSOPHY; Including the Intellect, the Sensibilities, and the 
Will. By Joseph Haven, Prof, of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, Amherst College. 
Royal 12mo, cloth, embossed, $1.50, 

It is "believed this work will be found pre-eminently distinguished. 

1. The Completeness with which it presents the whole subject. Text-book3 generally treat 
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of each topic. 5. The latest results of the science. G. The chaste, yet attractive style. 7. The 
remarkable condensation of thought. 

Prof. Park, of Andover, says : " It is distinguished for its clearness of style, perspicuity of 
method, candor of spirit, acumen and comprehensiveness of thought." 

The work, though so recently published, has met with most remarkable success ; having beeB 
already introduced into a large number of the leading colleges and schools in various parts of tho 
country, and bids fair to take the place of every other work on the subject now before the public. 

THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WOEDS A1STD PHRASES, so classi- 
fied and arranged as to facilitate the expression of ideas, and assist in literary composi- 
tion. New and Improved Edition. By Peter Mark Roget, late Secretary of the Royal 
Society, London, &c. Revised and edited, with a List of Foreign Words defined in Eng- 
lish, and other additions, by Barnas Sears, D. D., President of Brown University. A 
New American Edition, with Additions and Improvements. 12mo, cloth, $1.50. 

This edition is based on the London edition, recently issued. The first American Edition hav- 
ing been prepared by Dr. Sears for strictly educational purposes, those words and phrases properly 
termed * vulgar," incorporated in the original work, were emitted. These expurgated portions have, 
in the present edition, been restored, but by such an arrangement of the matter as not t-,> inters 
fere with the educational purposes of the American editor. Besides this, it contains important 
additions of words and phrases not in the English edition, making it in all respects more full and 
perfect than the author's edition. The work has already become one of standard authority, both 
in this country and in Great Britain. 

PALSY'S INTATITRAL THEOLOGY. Illustrated by forty Plates, with 
Selections from the Notes of Br. Paxtori, and Additional Notes, Original and Selected, 
with a Vocabulary of Scientific Terms. Edited by Joirs T Wars, M. D. Improved edition, 
with elegant newly engraved plates. 12mo, cloth, embossed, $1.25. 

This work is very generally introduced into our best Schools and Colleges throughout the coun- 
try. An entirely new and beautiful set of Illustrations has recently been procured, which, with 
other improvements, render it the best and most complete worl; of the kind extant, 

(32) 



VALUABLE TEXT-BOOKS. 

PRINCIPLES OF ZOOLOGY; Touching the Structure, Development, Dis- 
tribution, and Natural Arrangement, of the Backs of Animals, living and extinct, 
with numerous Illustrations. For the use of Schools and Colleges. Fart I. Com- 
parative Puysu>lo..y. By Louis Agassiz and Augustus A. Guild. Revised edi« 1 
tiuu, 1-in), cloihj ^1.00. | 

M It is not a more book, but a work — a real work in the form of a book. Zoology is an interesting 
Science, and here is treated with a masterly hand. It is a work adapted to colleges and schools, and 
g man should be without it." — Sclent ijic American. 

•■ this work places us in possession of information half a century in advance of all our elementarj 
works on this subject. . . Nj work of the same dimensions has ever appeared in the English lan- 
guage containing so much new and valuable information." — Puof. James Hall, Albany, 

•' The best book of the kind in our language." — Christian Examiner. 

PRINCIPLES OF ZOOLOGY, PART II. Systematic Zoology. In 
preparation. 

TEH ELEMENTS OF GEOLOGY; adapted to Schools and Colleges. With 
numerous Illustrations. By J. R. Loomis, President of Lewisburg University, Pa. 
12mo ; cloth, 75 ets. 

" It is surpassed by no work before the American public." — 31. B. Anderson, LL. D. t President 
Rochester University. 

" This is just such a work as is needed for our schools. We see no reason why it should not 
take its place as a text-buck iu all the schools in the land." — A". Y. Observer. 

" Admi^bly adapted for use as a text-book in common schools and academies."— Congregation' 
alist, Boston. 

ELEMENTS OF MORAL SCIENCE. By Francis Wayland, D. D., late 
President of Brown University. 12mo, cloth, $1.25. 

MORAL SCIENCE ABRIDGED, and 'adapted to the use of Schools and 

Academies, by the Author. Half morocco, 50 cts. 
The same, Cheap School Edition, boards, 25 cts. 

This work is used in the Boston Schools, and is exceedingly popular as a text-book wherever it 
has been adopted. 

ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. By Francis Wayland, 
D. D. 12mo, cloth, $1.25. 

POLITICAL ECONOMY ABRIDGED, and adapted to the use of Schools 
and Academies, by the Author. Half morocco, 50 cts. 

"It deserves to be introduced into every private family, and to be studied by every man who 
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S class book, and be faithfully studied in our academies, and that it will find its way into every 
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sion in tbe family circle."— Puritan Recorder. 

All the above Works by Dr. Wayland are used as text-books in most of the colleges and higher 
schools throughout the Union, and are highly approved. 



TT G.irL. keep, in addition to tvorks published by themselves, an extensive assort- 
ment of works published by others, in all departments of trade, which they supply 
at publishers' prices. They invite the attention of Booksellers, Travelling Agents, 
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attended to with faithfulness and despatch. (33) 



VALUABLE SCHOOL BOOKS. 

ROMAIC ANTIQUITIES AND ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY. By 

C. K. Dillaway. Illustrated by elegant Engravings. 12mo, half mor., 67 cts. 

THE YOUNG LADIES' CLASS BOOK: a Selection of Lessons for Reading, 
in Prose and Verse. By Ebexezer Batley, A. M. Cloth embossed, 8-1 cts. 

" I have examined, with much interest, the Yonng Ladies' Class Book, by Mr. Bailey, and have 
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ence upon the character and conduct which will be in every respect favorable." — Jacob Abbott. 

2AST LESSONS II? ENGLISH GBAMMAE, for Young Beginners. 
By W. S. Barton, A. M. 12mo, half mor. 50 cts. 

A NEW INTERMEDIATE SYSTEM OF ENGLISH GRAM- 
MAS. By W. S. Barton, A. M. 12mo, half mor., 75 cts. 

Designed as a Text-book for the use of schools and academies. It is the result of long experi- 
ence, and will be found to possess many and peculiar merits. 

PRACTICAL EXERCISES IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION; or, 

Tm-: Young Composer's Guide. By W. S. Barton, A. M. 12mo, half mor., 75 cts. 

Designed as a sequel to the author's New System of Exoltsti Grammar, wJ.ich forms 
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sition. 

BLAKE'S NATURAL PHILOSOPHY; being Conversations on Philosophy, 
with Explanatory Notes, Questions for Examination, and a Dictionary of Philosophical 
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Perhaps no work has contributed so much as this to excite a fondness for the study of Natural 
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BLAKE'S FIRST BOOK IN ASTRONOMY; designed for the use of 
Common Schools. Illust. with steel-plate Engravings. By J. L. Blake, D. D. Cluth 
back, 50 cts. 

" I know of no other work so well calculated to interest and instruct young learners in this 
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THE CICERONIAN; or, the Prussian method of teaching the elements of the 
Latin Language. Adapted to the use of American Schools. By Prof. Baknas Sears, 
President of Brown University. ISmo, half mor., 50 cts. 

MEMORIA TECHNIOA; or, the Art of Abbreviating those Studies which give 
the greatest labor to the memory. By L. D. Johnson. Half bound, 50 cts. 

WRITING COPIE3, Plain and Ornamental from the "Progressive Penman- 
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PROGRESSIVE PENMANSHIP, Plain and Ornamental, for the use of 
Schools. By N. D. Gould, Author of "Beautus of Writing," " Writing Master's Assist- 
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folded that a copy always comes over the top of th * p ><re on which it is to be written. 

There are ninety-six copies, presenting a regul »r inductive system of Penmanship for ordinary 
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This work is introduced into many of the Boston Public and Private Schools, and gives univer- 
sal satisfaction. (21) 



VALUABLE BIOGRAri-IIES. 

EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE 
OF THE LATE AMOS LAWRENCE. With a brief account of some 
Incidents in his Life. Edited by his son, \\ m. 11. Lawrence, M. 1). With elegant Por- 
traits of Amos and Abbott Lawrence, an Engraving of their Birthplace, an Autograph 

page of Handwriting, and a copious Index. One large octavo volume, eloih, $1.50 ; royal 
. doth, $1.00. 

A MEMOIR OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ISAAC BACKUS. 

By Ai.vah HovbTj Professor of Ecclesiastical History in Newton Theological InstiLution. 
. cloth, $1.25. 

This work gives an account of a remarkable man, and of a remarkable movement in the middla 
of the last century, resulting in the formation of what were called the " Separate " Churches. It 
supplies an important deficiency in the history of New England affairs. For every Baptist, espe- 
cially, it is a necessary book. 

LIFE OF JAMES MONTGOMERY. By Mrs. H. C. Knight, author of 
u Lady Huntington and her Friends," &c. Likeness and elegant Illustrated Title-Page 
ou steel. ]2mo, cloth, $1.25. 

This is an original biography, prepared from the abundant but ill-digested materials contained 
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MEMOIR OF ROGER WILLIAMS, Founder of the State of Rhode Island. 
By Prof. William Gammell, A. M. 16mo, cloth, 75 cts. 

PHILIP DODDRIDGE. His Life and Labors. By John Stoughton, D. D. With 
an Introductory Chapter, by Rev. James G. Miall, Author of " Footsteps of our Fore- 
fathers," &c. With beautiful Illustrated Title-page and Frontispiece. 16mo, cloth, 60 
cents. 

THE LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF JOHN FOSTER. 

Edited by J. E. Ryland, with notices of Mr. Foster, as a Preacher and a Companion. 
By John Sheppard. A new edition, two volumes in one, 700 pages. 12mo, cloth, $1.25. 

"In simplicity of language, in majesty of conception, his writings are unmatched." — Xorth 
British Review. 

THE LIFE OF GODFREY WILLIAM VON LEIBNITZ. By John 
M. Mackie, Esq. On the basis of the German work of Dr. G. E. Guhrauer. 16mo, cloth, 
75 cts * 

" It merits the special notice of all who are interested in the business of education, and deserves 
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MEMORIES OF A GRANDMOTHER. By a Lady of Massachusetts. 
16mo, cloth, 50 cts. 

B^=- " My path lies in a valley, which I have soupht to adorn with flowers. Shadows from the 
hills cover it ; but I make my own sunshine." — Author's Preface. 

THE TEACHER'S LAST LESSON. A Memoir of Martha Whittng, late 

of the Charlestown Female Seminary, with Reminiscences and Suggestive Keflect : e>n3. 
By Catharine N. Badger, an Associate Teacher. With a Portrait, and an Engraving 
of the Seminary. 12mo, cloth, $1.00. 

The subject of this Memoir was, for a quarter of a century, at the head of one of the most cele- 
brated female seminaries in the country. During that period she educated more than three t7iou- 
tand young ladies. She was a kindred spirit to Mary Lyon, (17.) 



IMPORTANT NEW WORKS. 

CTCIiOPJSBDIA OF ANECDOTES OF LITERATURE AND 
THiC FINE AET3. Containing a copious and choice Selection of Anecdotes 
of the various forms of Literature, of the Arts, of Architecture, Engravings, Music, 
Poetry, Painting, and Sculpture, and of the most celebrated Literary Characters and 
Artists of different Countries and Ages, &c. By Kazlitt Arvine, A. M., author of 
u Cyclopaedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes." With numerous Illustrations. 725 pp. 
octavo. Cloth, $3.00 ; sheep, $3.50 ; cloth, gilt, $4.00 j half calf, $4.00. 

This is unquestionably the choicest collection of Anecdotes ever published. It contains three 
thousand and forty Anecdotes: and such is the wonderful variety, tlut it will be found an almost 
inexhaustible fund of interest for every class of readers. The elaborate classification and Indexes 
must commend it especially to public speakers, to the various classes of literary and scientific men, 
L> artists, >neekanic$, and others, as a Dictionary for reference, in relation to facts on the num- 
berless subjects and characters introduced. There are also more than one hundred and fifty fine 
Illustrations. 

THE IjIEE OF JOHN MILT OiY, Narrated in Connection with the Political, 
Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of his Time. By David Masson, M.A., Professor 
of English Literature, University College, London. Vol. 1., embracing the period from 
1603 to 1639. "With Portraits, and specimens of his handwriting at different periods. 
Royal octavo, cloth, $0.G0. 

This important.' work will embrace three royal cetavo volumes. By special arrangement with 
Prof. Masson, the author, G. & L. are permitted to print from advance sheets furnished them, as 
thi authorized American publishers of this magnificent and eagerly looked for work. Volumes two 
and three will follow in due time ; but, as each volume covers a definite period of time, and also 
embraces distinct topics iff discussion or history, they will be published and sold independent of 
each other, or furnished in sets when the three volumes are completed. 

THE GHEYS023" LETTEHS. Selections from the Correspondence of R. E. H. 
Greyson, Esq. Edited by Henry Rogers, author of "Eclipse of Eaith." 12mo, cloth, 

$1.25. 

" Mr. Greyson and "Mr. Rogers are one and the same person. The whole work is from his pen, 
and every letter is radiant with the genius of the author. It discusses a wide range of subjects, in 
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entitles Mr. Rogers to rank with Sydney Smith and Charles Lamb as a wit and humorist, and with 
Bishop Butler as a reasoner. Mr. Piogers' name will share with those of Butler and Pascal, in the 
gratitude and veneration of posterity." — London Quarterly. 

" A book not for one hour, but for all hours ; not for one mood, but for every mood ; to think 
over, to dream over, to laugh over." — Boston Journal. 

"The Letters are intellectual gems, radiant with beauty, happily intermingling the grave and 
the gay. — Christian Observer. 

ESSAYS III BIQ3BAPHY A?ZT> CRITICISM. By Peter Bayne, M. 
A., author of "The Christian Life, Social and Individual." Arranged in two Series, or 
Parts. 12mo, cloth, each, $1.25. 

These volumes have been prepared by the author exclusively for his American publishers, and 
are now published in uniform style. They include nineteen articles, viz. : 

First Series :— Thomas De Quincy. — Tennyson and his Teachers. —Mrs. Barrett Brown- 
ing. —Recent Aspects of British Art. — John Buskin. — Hugh Miller. — The Modern Novel; 
Dickens, &c. — Ellis, Acton, and Currer Bell. 

Secoxd Series :— Charles Kingsley. — S. T. Coleridge. — T. B. Macaulay. — Alison. — Wel- 
lington.— Napoleon. — Plato. — Characteristics of Christian Civilization. — The Modem University. 
— The Pulpit and the Press. — Testimony of the Bocks : a Defence. 

♦ 
VISITS TO EUBOPIOAIT CELEB KITIES. By the Rev. William B. 

Sprague, D. D. 12mo, cloth, $1.00 ; cloth, gilt, $1.50. 

A series of graphic and life-like Personal Sketches of many of the most distinguished men and 
Women of Europe, portrayed as the Author saw them in their own homes, and under the most 
advantageous circumstances. Besides these " pen and ink" sketches, the work contains the novel 
attraction of a facsimile of the signature of each of the persons introduced. (2 8) 



VALUABLE WORKS. 

THE LIMITS OF RELIGIOUS THOUGHT EXAMINED. By 
ILnky Longgbvillb BIanssl, B. D.,Profc of Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy, Mag- 
dalen College, Oxford, Editor of Sir William Hamilton's Lectures, etc. etc. With the 
Conors Notes of the volume translated for the American Edition. 12mo, cloth, $125. 

ELF~ This is a masterly production, and may be safely said to be one of the most important -works 
of the day. 

PHST THINGS; or, The Development of Church Life. By Baron Stow, D D. 
lomo, cloth, To cts. 

EICAVEN. By James "William Kimball. With an elegant vignette title-page. 
12mo, cloth, $1.00. 

" The book is full of beautiful ideas, consoling hopes, and brilliant representations of human 
destiny, ail presented in a chaste, pleasing and very readable style.'' — JS\ Y. Chronicle. 

THE PROGRESS OE BAPTIST PRINCIPLES IN THE LAST 

Eu"NDHED YEARS. By T. E. Curtis, Professor of Theology in the Lewisburg 

University, Pa., and author of " Communion," &c. 12mo, cloth, $1.25. 

Eminently worthy of the attention, not only of Baptists, but of all other denominations. In hia 

preface the author declares that his aim has been to draw a wide distinction between parties and 

opinions. Hence the object of this volume is not to exhibit or defend the Baptists, hat their prin-* 

ciples. It is confidently pronounced the best exhibition of Baptist views and principles extant. 

THOUGHTS ON THE PRESENT COLLEGIATE SYSTEM in the 
United States. By Francis Wayland, D. D. 16mo, cloth, 50 cents. 

SACRED RHETORIC ; or, Composition and Delivery of Sermons. By H. J. 
Ripley, D. D., Prof, in Newton Thcol. Inst. To which is added, Dr. Ware's Hints 
on Extemporaneous Preaching. Second thousand. 12mo, cloth, 75 cts. 

THE PULPIT OF THE REVOLUTION; or, The Political Sermons of the 
Era of 1773. With an Introduction, Biographical Sketches of the Preachers and Histori- 
cal Notes, etc. By John Wingate Thornton, author of " The Landing at Cape Anne," 
etc. 12mo, cloth. In press. 

THE EIGHTEEN CHRISTIAN CENTURIES. By the B.ev. James 
White, author of u Landmarks of the History of England." 12mo, cloth. In press. 

THE PLURALITY OF "WORLDS. A New Edition. With a Supplement- 
ary Dialogue, in which the author's Reviewers are reviewed. 12mo, cloth, $1.00. 

This masterly production, -which has excited so much interest in this country and in Europe, 
■will now have an increased attraction in the addition of the Supplement, in which the author's 
reviewers are triumphantly reviewed. 

THE CAMEL ; His Organization, Habits, and Uses, considered with reference to his 
introduction into the United States. By George P. Marsh, late U. S. Minister at Con- 
stantinople. 12mo, cloth, 63 cts. 

This boolc treats of a subject of great interest, especially at the present time. It furnishes a more 
complete and reliable account of the Camel than any other in the language : indeed, it is believed 
that there is no other. It is the result of long study, extensive research, and much personal obser- 
vation, on the part of the author, and it has been prepared with special reference to the experiment 
of domesticating the Camel in this country, nowgoin? on under the auspices nf the United States 
government. It is written in a style worthy of the distinguished author's reputation for great learn- 
ing and iine scholarship, (36) 



WORKS FOE BIBLE STUDENTS. 

KITTO'S POPULAR CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL LITERA. 

TiJRE. Condensed from the larger work. By the Author, John Kitto, I). D. As- 
sisted by James Taylor, D. D., of Glasgow. With over five hundred Illustrations. One 
volume, octavo, 812 pp. Cloth, $3.00 ; sheep, $3.50 ; cloth, gilt, $4.00 \ half calf, $4.00. 

A Dictionary of tiie Bible. Serving, also, as a Commentary, embodying the products of 
the best and most recent researches in biblical literature in which the scholars of Europe and 
America have been engaged. The work, the result of immense labor and research, and enriched 
by the contributions of writers of distinguished eminence in the various departments of sacred liter- 
ature, has been, by universal consent, pronounced the best work of its class extant, and the one best 
Buited to the advanced knowledge of the present day in all the studies connected with theological 
science. It is not only intended for ministers and theological students, but it is also particularly 
adapted to parents, Sabbath-school teachers, and the great body of the religious public. 

THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE, from the Patriarchal Age to the Present 
Time •, with Chapters on the Geography and Natural History of the Country, the Cus- 
toms and Institutions of the Hebrews. By John Kitto, D. D. With upwards of two 
hundred Illustrations. 12mo, cloth, $1.25. 

EST* A work admirably adapted to the Family, the Sabbath, and the week-day School Library. 

ANALYTICAL concordance to the holy scrip- 
tures ; or, the Bible presented under Distinct and Classified Heads or Topics. By 
John Radie, D. D., LL D., Author of " Biblical Cyclopaedia," "Ecclesiastical Cyclopae- 
dia," " Dictionary of the Bibb," etc. One volume, octavo, 840 pp. Cloth, $3.00 ; sheep, 
$3.50 ) cloth, gilt, $4.00 ; half Turkey morocco, $4.00. 

The object of this Concordance is to present the Scriptures entire, under certain classified 
anl exhaustive heads. It differs from an ordinary Concordance, in that its arrangement depends 
not on words, but on subjects, and the verses are printed in full. Its plan docs not bring it at 
all into competition with such limited works as those of Gaston and Warden ; for they select doc- 
trinal topics principally, and do not profess to comprehend as this the entire Bible. The work 
also contains a Synoptical Table of Contents of the whole work, presenting in brief a system of 
biblical antiquities and theology, with a very copious and accurate index. 

The value of this work to ministers and Sabbath-school teachers can hardlj- be over-estimated ; 
and it needs only to be examined, to secure the approval and patronage of every Bible student. 

CRTJDEN'S CONDENSED CONCORDANCE. A Complete Concord, 
ance to the Holy Scriptures. By Alexander Cruden. Revised and Re-edited by the 
Rev. David King, LL. D. Octavo, cloth backs, $1.25 ; sheep, $1.50. 

The condensation of the quotations of Scripture, arranged under the most obvious heads, while 
it diminishes the bulk of the work, greatly facilitates the finding of any required passage. 

" We have in this edition of Cruden the best made better. That is, the present is better adapted 
to the purposes of a Concordance, by the erasure of superfluous references, the omission of unne- 
cessary explanations, and the contraction of quotations, &c. It is better as a manual, and is better 
adapted by its price to the means of many who need and ought to possess such a work, than the 
former large and expensive edition." — Puritan Eecorder. 

A COMMENTARY ON THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE ACTS 
OP THE APOSTLES. By Horatio B. Hackett, D. D., Prof, of Biblical Liter- 
ature and Interpretation, in the Newton Theol. Inst, [£T A new, revised, and enlarged 
edition. Royal octavo, cloth, $2.25. 

E3- This most important and very popular work has been thoroughly revised ; large portions 
eniirely re-written, with the addition of more than one hundred pages of new matter; the result of 
ttt.6 author's continued, laborious investigations and travels, since the publication of the first edition. 

(22) 



COULD AND LINCOLN, 

50 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, 

Would call particular attention to the following valuable works described 
in their Catalogue of Publications, viz. : 

Hugh. M i 1 1 c r ' s Works. 

Bayne's Works. Walker's Works. Miall's Works. Bungencr's Work. 

Annual of Scientific Discovery. Knight's Knowledge is Power. 

Erummaeker's Suffering Saviour, 

Banvard's American Histories. The Aim-well Stories. 

Neweomb's Works. Tweedie's Works. Chambers's Works. Harris' Works. 

Kitto's Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature. 

Mrs. Enight's Life of Montgomery. Eitto's History of Palestine. 

WhewelFs Work. Wayland's Works. Agassiz's Works. 




^ Earth and Man, 

&\ Principles of Z L 

\ ComP'rativo / 




Principles of ^^ \ %,-^J 



^V Cyclop, of i^g. i.iterat.,^ Robert CI s/h \» 

^ -Cyclop, ci- liiUc Lit., % Kitto. - c ruS 
W- Concord, cf the Bible, %. £ adl># _£ ,"' 
&\\ Analyt. Cono. of Bible, % francis W^J 
\' A Moral Science, V& t^-, r,_. . 



&.K'S/irsr&s.ti. 




Williams' "Works. Guyot's "Works. 

Thompsons Better Land. Kimball's Heaven. Valuable Works on Missions. 

Haven's Mental Philosophy. Buchanan's Modern Atheism. 

Cruden's Condensed Concordance. Eadie's Analytical Concordance* 

Th3 Psalmist : a Collection of Hymns. 

Valuable School Books. Works for Sabbath Schools. 

Memoir of Amos Lawrence. 

Poetical Works of Milton, Cowper, Scott. Elegant Miniature Volumes. 

Arvinc's Cy clopesdia of Anecdotes. 

Ripley's Notes on Gospels, Acts, and Romans. 

Sprague's European Celebrities. Marsh's Camel and the Hallig. 

Roget'a Thesaurus of English Words. 

Hackctt's Notes on Acts. M'Whorter's Yahveh Christ. 

Siebold and Stannius's Comparative ifhatomy. Mareou's Geological Map, IT. S. 

Religions and Miscellaneous Works. 

Works in the various Departments of Literature, Science and Art. 



3477 






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